Torn Apart
by Sakura02
Summary: Everyone knew Atsuko would never win Mother of the Year, but no one ever expected child services to take Yusuke from her and force him to live with Raizen. Also, Raizen has some other plans...and they involve a very confused Hiei. STORY COMPLETE
1. Warnings About the Warning

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N New ideas + a muse + a plotline = a new fic! Wow, fiction math is so much easier than algebra. ^^  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You have hereby received a warning, Miss Urameshi. The next time this happens, we will have no choice but to take the boy." The man walked out, closing the door behind him.  
  
Atsuko looked down at the slip of paper in her hand. It was a warning from the Child Protection Agency. They had heard from an anonymous source that Atsuko was not fit to be a good mother to her son, Yusuke. Tears welt up in her eyes as she reread the notice.  
  
"Inspection complete. Social Worker Koji Ikimachi will be notifying the CPA (Child Protection Agency) of the following:  
  
Filthy house- clothes and garbage lying around the rooms  
  
empty beer bottles and numerous cigarette packages  
  
Unsafe- stove on and left without supervision  
  
front door of apartment never locked  
  
Child- son, Yusuke Urameshi gone from house without notifying parent or guardian  
  
has become a well-known thug at Sariaki Junior High"  
  
Yusuke came home later that night. He, as usual, expected his mom to be in a drunken state, and as usual, when he opened the door, Yusuke found a note on the counter, letting him know that she had gone drinking and would be home later.  
  
He also began reading the larger note under Atsuko's. All that Yusuke had to do was read the heading to understand what it had been about.  
  
"Child Protection Agency- the CPA," he read aloud. Atsuko had passed these, what she called "tests", every other time, and had gone without a warning. But just one more notice and Yusuke would be living with another family.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Shouldn't you be a bit less happy, detective?" Hiei sat in his tree, which was just a few feet above the others. They had gone to talk about this in a more public place (like the library), but when Hiei neglected to get off the high shelves, they had been forced out into the park.  
  
Yusuke shook his head, still smiling. "Nah, I don't care. They can't force me to leave, and even if they did, I don't have any other living relatives to stay with."  
  
"They could always send you to a foster home... or an orphanage," Kurama said sounding upset with the way Yusuke was handling this. If Atsuko received another warning, Yusuke would never be able to see her again. He might even lose his job...  
  
"What about your job as a Spirit Detective? If you live with different parents, then they're not going to be like Atsuko. They're going to know where you're going and when you'll be back."  
  
Yusuke was surprised to hear this from Kuwabara, but covered it up quickly enough. "Heh, like I said, it doesn't matter..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was six months since Atsuko had had her last inspection. This time, she tried to clean up her act, but more likely her house. Yusuke was in charge of cleaning the place last week (he invited the other detectives to help, which they did); Hiei refused to show up though.  
  
So now the house was clean, the trash was thrown, and Yusuke was forced to stay put when the CPA arrived. The inspector, Koji Ikimachi walked in, and made himself comfortable.  
  
"Let's begin with some questions, alright Yusuke?" Koji said in a mock-like voice. Yusuke shrugged, letting Koji know that he was ready.  
  
"Where do you go during the day, and why don't you let anyone know that you're going there?" Atsuko was not permitted in the room while Koji was there asking questions; so Yusuke thought it would be alright to tell him about his job as...  
  
"I work as a detective for Spirit World." Koji raised an eyebrow. "Spirit World is the agency I work for. It's a program for... juveniles," Yusuke added. He smirked inwardly, remembering that it was Botan who told the same thing to Keiko before the Dark Tournament.  
  
"I see," Koji scribbled this down on his clipboard. "And do you mind it when your mom drinks?"  
  
"I could care less, really. I'm never here -working- when she does drink though."  
  
"Do you think Atsuko is fit to be a good mother to you?"  
  
Yusuke hesitated. "...Of course I do!" he said loudly. Koji nodded and began writing on his clipboard again.  
  
After a while, he stood up. "Alright Yusuke, that's all for my inspection. I just need to leave a copy of this for your mom, and then take it to the CPA." He was indicating to his clipboard, Yusuke thought.  
  
Yusuke was eager to know what he meant, and what Koji was going to tell the CPA, but before he could, he realized Koji Ikimachi had already left.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The telephone rang, and Yusuke answered it urgently. When the caller asked to speak to Atsuko Urameshi, he sighed deeply, handing over the phone. Minutes later, while Atsuko was still talking away on the phone, a knock came at the door. Yusuke stepped over, opening their apartment door. It was the mail delivery guy; he handed over an envelope to Yusuke. He read who it was addressed to, and seeing that again, it was for his mom, laid it beside her.  
  
Atsuko came through the hall, many minutes later, envelope and phone in hand. She hung up the phone, turning to Yusuke afterward. There were tears falling down her face. Atsuko ran out of the room, throwing the envelope at Yusuke. He read:  
  
Atsuko was not fit to be the mother that Yusuke left the impression of. Her son, Yusuke Urameshi will be sent to live with another family relative, after he goes through court. It is there in the courtroom, that Atsuko can try to claim back her son. The family relative responsible for Yusuke will be fighting against her.  
  
Sincerely,  
Ichiro Kamigawa- Child Protection Agency (CPA)  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N A cliffy! Well...kinda... that was chapter one, and though I know it was rushed through, the next chapters will mostly likely be longer and more informing. Just wait until you see who the "family relative" is! Review and let me know what you think!  
  
Oh, and if you want to be on my mailing list, just send me an email. 


	2. Family Relative: Father

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N Standard disclaimers apply. You know, for once, I actually have this whole fic planned out.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
"What d'you do this time that you have to go to court?" Kuwabara, the rest of the detectives and Keiko were in the park again, all talking about the note that Atsuko received the previous night. Kurama and Keiko looked at Kuwabara coldly.  
  
Yusuke was having a hard time as it was with this, but he also had to figure out who this "family relative" was that he would be staying with. He didn't have any aunts or uncles on either side of the family; not that he would want to meet any on his father's side.  
  
The black-haired ningen began mumbling (he had done so every now and then while they were at the park). He didn't really feel like being with any of them right now. He just wanted to be alone so he could think this over; that is, until Hiei said:  
  
"...I know who it is." Four heads snapped upward to look at him on his tree branch. Hiei kept his eyes on Yusuke's face, his expression never varying.  
  
"Well, are you going to tell me?" Yusuke snapped, after a few moments of silence.  
  
"No," Kuwabara's lower jaw dropped and Yusuke scowled. "Not with her around." There was only one 'her' with them, so Hiei had to be talking about Keiko. Kuwabara and Kurama turned to look at the brunette, but Yusuke was focused on Hiei.  
  
Hiei just smirked. For some reason, there was something about Yusuke's relative that couldn't be said in front of Keiko. Either that, or Hiei was just being stubborn. Both choices seemed possible at the time being.  
  
"What's Keiko got to do with this?" Yusuke said, turning to face her. She looked surprised; surprised to see that she had just become a new problem for Yusuke. Just then, Yusuke could have sworn he saw Kurama mouth something to Hiei. Yusuke looked at the black-veiled youkai for some sort of clue, but Hiei just continued to stare down at him.  
  
Hiei jumped down from his perch, and directed his gaze towards Keiko; she did the same, blinking a few times to keep him in focus. The Jaganshi took a step back, and pressed himself against the tree's base. For a split second, he looked at his boots, but then immediately back at Keiko.  
  
His gaze was now piercing through Keiko- who knows how long they had been staring at each other? That's when Kurama broke the silence.  
  
"Hiei...?" Kurama seemed to be reminding the youkai that they were still here, and weren't going to leave until Yusuke got the answer he wanted. Hiei turned his icy glare at Kurama, then as before, to Keiko. He snarled at her and disappeared.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
When the day for court had finally arrived (one week later), Yusuke was still upset with Hiei. He had given up trying to search for Hiei; he had the Jagan eye, so he probably knew Yusuke would come looking for him. During their missions, neither talked nor looked at one another. There was even one mission where Yusuke almost let Hiei die; and he probably would have if Kurama hadn't stepped in the way. Yusuke had felt slightly bad about not helping Hiei, once he thought about it. Hiei had looked at him with a hurt look, or has hurt has his fierce eyes would allow.  
  
If he saw Hiei on their next mission, Yusuke told himself that he would apologize. He changed his mind soon afterward. As he and Atsuko reached the court room, there in the audience, sat Keiko, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Hiei. When he and Yusuke made eye contact, Hiei quickly pretended to be in deep thought as he stared at his warded arm.  
  
As Yusuke sat down, he realized that when he and Hiei had looked at each other, he had seen something in Hiei's eyes; that's when he remembered. He turned to look over his shoulder and (meeting Hiei's gaze once more) saw why Hiei had looked away.  
  
His left eye looked a bit swollen and bruised. As Yusuke looked closer, he noticed that his eye looked very glazed. He wondered how Hiei could see out of that eye. Unless...he actually couldn't.  
  
Yusuke turned back to face the front. Then he looked to the right; he was expecting his relative to be sitting there and ready to take him away. That's when he heard the doors open behind him. Yusuke didn't even bother to turn around; he would wait for his relative to walk in front of him. And soon, he did.  
  
Yusuke's relative had long, tan bushy hair, in which was tied in a pony tail; he wore a yellow bandana, which upped his bangs higher above his face; he smirked at Yusuke coldly, and it seemed that his blue-gray eyes seemed to be smiling as well; there was a large (what appeared to be) tattoo on the man's right cheek- it was of some unknown symbol.  
  
Yusuke's family relative was none other than his father...Warlord Raizen. Yusuke nor any of the other detectives had ever seen Raizen, other than in his demonic form. The only detective that didn't look the least bit surprised was Hiei.  
  
"Yusuke, aren't you happy to see me?" Raizen placed his smiling face inches from Yusuke's before going to sit down.  
  
"Raizen, do you have your letter?" Raizen rose from his chair and handed a sheet of paper over to the judge. The judge read the letter over quickly, then he looked at Atsuko. "Well?"  
  
When Atsuko didn't answer after a while, the judge said, "Since Atsuko has failed to try and reclaim her son, and since Raizen has evidence about the way his son has been raised," he took a breath "I have no choice to give Raizen full custody of his son, Yusuke Urameshi."  
  
Yusuke sat there a moment, frozen at what he had just heard. When he heard his mother burst into tears, he got up and began frantically looking for Koji. He had told Mr. Ikimachi that Atsuko was a good mom, and he seemed well convinced of it. But he noticed the Koji was nowhere to be seen. If he could find Koji and get him to tell the judge that Raizen was a fraud, then Yusuke would be safe from living with him.  
  
As everyone began filing out (including Atsuko), Yusuke walked up to his friends who remained in the room in case, for some reason, that he should need them. The first thing he saw was Hiei's swollen eye; Hiei too stared back at Yusuke, but then, as before, looked down at his arm.  
  
"You're living with Raizen, Yusuke," Kurama said, reminding Yusuke of the obvious. Keiko looked questionable about the name, but remained quiet.  
  
Yusuke nodded. "I know... It's going to be hell." He rubbed his temple, as though trying to rid himself of a headache. It was then that he realized that his face felt hot. It was probably just steam he was blowing off, Yusuke thought.  
  
"How did Raizen know about your case?" Yusuke was surprised to see that Hiei had spoken. Evidently, so was Kurama; he had his mouth agape. Hiei didn't bother to look up at them. He continued, his eyes never leaving their position. "He couldn't have known about this unless he heard something from the CPA- but how could he?" Hiei lowered his voice. "Demon Warlords," Keiko gasped, "don't just pretend to know everything... because they don't." Hiei sat back on the bench (arms crossed) and closed his eyes. He looked almost as though he was sleeping.  
  
Kurama stepped up, putting himself between Hiei and Yusuke. "He's coming this way," he whispered.  
  
Yusuke spun on his heel, and sure enough, Raizen was headed their way. As he came up, Yusuke saw the same smirk and dancing eyes he had seen when the Warlord had first arrived.  
  
Raizen looked over to the sleeping Hiei and felt a soft purr rise in his throat. He turned back to Yusuke, saying, "C'mon son, let me show you your new home."  
  
- - - - - -  
  
A/N And there ya have it, chapter 2. Evil ending there, ne? Raizen freaks me out sometimes. Let me explain:  
  
I don't know much about Raizen, but I do know he's Yusuke's ancestor (not father). I also heard he died, which is news to me, but my fic is an AU, so he's alive and Yusuke's dad; makes my plot flow more.  
  
And Hiei! Oh my, what happened to his eye! Well, you'll find out in the next chapter. Maybe it'll be up by tomorrow or something. Review and let me know how it was. Chao! 


	3. Sickness and Squids

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N Ooh, I'm on a role, ne? I'm finishing chapters daily! ^^  
  
- - - - - -  
  
They reached the apartment. It wasn't the best looking apartment, but it was, truthfully, better than the one Atsuko had provided. On the way over, Raizen had said that they were on the top floor, and Yusuke wondered why demons tended to like high places.  
  
They walked in, and to Yusuke's surprise, it looked just like a normal apartment; there were no dark, evil Warlord things. He looked over at his father.  
  
"Why'd you do it?"  
  
"Your bed's over there," Raizen replied pointing to a futon in a corner of another room.  
  
Yusuke ignored the fact that Raizen dismissed his question. He wasn't really expecting him to answer anyway. Instead he walked over to the futon and threw himself on it. For some reason, he felt exhausted.  
  
***  
  
It was a strange looking demon. It looked more like a giant squid that actually was giant- size. It had twelve long, purple tentacles and only one eye. The electric blue eye seemed to look in every direction at once; there was no possible way to get an attack in. That's when Hiei tried a sneak attack, while Kuwabara was busy thrashing at the squid with his Spirit Sword.  
  
He ran at the demon, black flames growing around his right arm. As predicted, the squid saw Hiei's attempt, and threw one of its purple tentacles, nearly missing the Jaganshi. Irritated, the squid threw another tentacle, lime green acid squirting from its tip, before making contact.  
  
The tentacle itself didn't do much harm, but the acid that flew from it; hit Hiei directly in the chest, nearly missing his face. But he didn't stop his attack- he threw what little energy he had gathered, and tossed it into the squid's eye. This paused the squid's assault, but now that it was blind, it began thrashing its tentacles; and twelve tentacles were not easy to dodge.  
  
As everyone gave effort in dodging, Hiei lie there on his back, watching in horror as the green, burning acid painfully ate away his skin. Yusuke looked up from his dodging and saw three acid-shooting tentacles flying down at Hiei. He watched in half-amusement as one tentacle slammed down close to the fire demon, squirting a large amount of acid in more directions than one.  
  
"Hey!" Yusuke turned to see both Kuwabara and Kurama looking at him in shock. He knew why too; they wanted him to aid Hiei- but why should he? Hiei had been an ass to him before.  
  
Angrily, Kurama shook his head, and ran in to help Hiei.  
  
***  
  
The loud knocking on the apartment door caused Yusuke to wake from his fevered sleep. He sat up, hoping the knocking would stop when Raizen opened the door, but he never heard footsteps go towards the door... and the knocking continued.  
  
He grabbed the knob, but it slipped as he tried to turn it. His body was covered in icy sweat, though he hadn't taken notice of this before. When he finally had gotten the door open, he was greeted by Kuwabara, Keiko, Hiei, Kurama, and the ferry-girl Botan.  
  
"Yusuke, what's wrong?" Keiko asked concerningly. Yusuke had no idea what she was talking about, until the brunette reached out her hand to touch Yusuke's cheek. She drew back saying, "You have a fever..."  
  
"It's nothing. I just-" So, that's what had caused his exhaustion, fevered dream and achy body; Yusuke had gotten sick. But how? Yusuke sighed, leading the group into his room to talk.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
"You want to what?" Botan asked. It was strange what Yusuke had asked. There was obviously something he wanted to discuss with Hiei that couldn't be with the others. No one was real keen on the idea, especially since their last mission with the purple squid; but they allowed him the time he needed. So, they stepped outside, eagerly trying to take in some of the conversation through the closed door.  
  
Yusuke sat in his bed a while, watching Hiei sitting quietly on the floor; eyes closed, arms and legs crossed. When he took an intake of breath, Yusuke took that as a signal to begin.  
  
"...What happened to your eye?"  
  
Eyes still closed, Hiei replied, "Lime green acid," and that was all.  
  
Yusuke knew what it meant though. "Hiei, I-"  
  
"I don't want your apologies, Detective." Hiei opened his eyes, revealing a blind eye and a glassy one. "I'm permanently blind on my left side... and I have your pride to blame for it." He closed his eyes once more.  
  
"It isn't easy fighting with only one eye. I've been retraining myself... This is the first time I've stopped in four days." Yusuke was surprised, but it also helped him figure out why Hiei looked so tired; he hadn't slept in four whole days. He thought it best to change the subject. He felt bad now about not helping Hiei, but him being permanently blind just made things worse.  
  
"Then why didn't you tell me about Raizen that day?" He knew Hiei wouldn't take a liking to these questions, but he had to know the reason why.  
  
Hiei uncrossed his arms and ruffled a hand through his hair. "Your friend. You certainly didn't want her to know, did you?"  
  
"Hiei! I don't care if she knew or not. Having Raizen keep custody of me- that's more important than Keiko knowing that he's a threat to demon kind! You had to have another reason for-"  
  
Suddenly, Hiei was on his feet, his eyes flaring; he slammed his fist against the wall, making the group outside wonder what exactly was going on inside Yusuke's bedroom. But before they could go in to look, they heard Hiei's voice.  
  
"Listen to yourself! ...Koenma was a fool to think you could make a difference- you're just a child! A weak, human kid... You can't do a thing on your own." And with that said, Hiei stormed out of the room.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
It was several days later. Yusuke was just coming home from his latest mission, and still was angry with Hiei. He didn't care what Hiei had said to him, Yusuke went on and told Keiko about Raizen being a Warlord.  
  
When Yusuke opened the door to the apartment, he was rudely greeted by Raizen himself.  
  
"Speak of the devil," Yusuke said coolly.  
  
"Where have you been? You're still sick," Raizen said almost parent-like.  
  
"I was out fighting crime. You know, keeping Spirit World safe from all you lowly demons."  
  
Raizen stared at his son coldly. Guess he didn't like the idea of being called a 'lowly demon'. It didn't matter- as long as Raizen didn't stop him from going to his job, all was well. Yusuke walked in and into his room, closing the door behind him.  
  
He saw a letter lying on his desk and began to read it. It was from his mom; she just wrote to ask how he was doing with Raizen. It was strange, because she never did this when he lived with her. Too bad he didn't have the same relationship that Kurama had with his mom. Well, at least his wasn't as bad as Hiei's had been. Abandoned by his own kind- his own mother. Ah, what was he thinking about Hiei for? He was still pissed at him.  
  
He wrote back to Atsuko, and sealing the envelope, told himself to deliver it later.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
A/N Odd way to end that chapter. I ran out of ideas for it, so I'll just leave it how it is. I have plans for the next chapter... so maybe (and I mean a very slight maybe) it'll be longer than the last three chapters have been. Plus, I still have to work on The Parting of the Ways; my Kenshin fic.  
  
Review, review, review! :þ 


	4. What Raizen's Up To

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N This chapter's for you Identity Thief. I don't know why, but I needed to give you something. So, here you are. Enjoy!  
  
- - - - - -  
  
Yusuke sat in Koenma's office, fuming. He, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei had been summoned to Spirit World in the dead of night, by Botan. She had said that Koenma had something urgent to tell them, but for now they were waiting for a certain fire demon to arrive.  
  
"I can't believe him!" Kuwabara too, seemed as angry as Yusuke about Hiei not being there. Kurama, for the most part, looked like he was doing the smart thing, and sat with his eyes closed, leaning against the wall; as though he were sleeping. Then, the huge door, opposite Koenma's desk, slowly opened; revealing the small demi-god. He sighed deeply as he sat in his giant chair.  
  
"Well, since this is too urgent, I can't see us waiting any longer for Hiei to arrive," Koenma began. But before he could continue, a voice said:  
  
"I'm here." It was Hiei's voice. Everyone turned in the direction it had come from; a dark corner at the far end of the office. Hiei stepped out from the shadows. Everyone gasped as he came out.  
  
His hair was more tousled than it normally was, his cloak was slipping off his shoulders (it was even torn in some places), and he had a bruise, the size as Kuwabara's fist, on his right cheek. Hiei was a total mess.  
  
He had a fixed gaze on Yusuke now; he seemed to be looking at him with a kind of loathing stare. The ningen seemed to have noticed this too, because he had a look that rivaled Hiei's greatly. The two's arguments hadn't seized, and they had neglected to look at each other during missions- now the only time they ever saw each other. And everything had taken a turn for the worst the day the detectives and Keiko had gone to visit Yusuke at Raizen's apartment.  
  
"Detective," Hiei said casually.  
  
"Go to hell," Yusuke said without warning. The others knew what was coming next, and Koenma still sat at his desk, looking very impatient.  
  
"Already been."  
  
Kurama stood up and placed himself between Hiei and Yusuke (as he'd done before), as to try to halt the fight that was probably going to occur. "Yusuke... Hiei. Come on, let's not have another argument. That isn't why we were brought here."  
  
- - - - - -  
  
(Kurama's POV)  
  
That night had not gone over well. There had been another verbal assault, but this time it had come from Yusuke. I guess it had been payback for what Hiei had told Yusuke last weekend. About him being a weak, human kid. Their arguments always happened while they were together; especially on our missions which was, in fact, the only time they ever saw each other.  
  
Since last night's argument had taken most of our time, Koenma never did get to tell us what it was he wanted. If it was so urgent, he should have told us sooner. But now that we were finally back, I decided to take a long nap. Neither I nor the other detectives had gotten an ounce of sleep- How could we? With Hiei and Yusuke around...  
  
I had just lain my head down and felt my eyes closing, when I heard an annoying little tap on my window. Only one person ever used it, but no way would Hiei come over now. It was probably just a bird; so I ignored it. The tapping continued.  
  
Frustrated, I climbed out of bed, pushed the curtains aside, and was greeted with the face of a greatly bruised fire demon. I opened the window hurriedly. Hiei too looked exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, his breathing coming in small gasps.  
  
He made himself comfortable on an old armchair; he sprawled his small form on it, using it as though it were a couch. Seeing him sit there, looking so comfortable, it made me sleepy. I shook my head, trying to keep my eyes from closing. I wanted to know why he was here; if it wasn't for any reason, then I wish he'd leave... so I could sleep. What was I saying? I would have mentally slapped myself if I hadn't been so tired.  
  
I was being selfish. Hiei had never just dropped by without an important piece of information. He was obviously here today to tell me something else, but why he was taking his time, was not something I knew. Right before I was about to ask, he spoke:  
  
"Even though Yusuke's being his usual self," (Great, I knew what was coming. Hiei was going to tell me something about Yusuke; something that- wait, I had missed what he had just said.)  
  
"What?" I probably looked like I had just woken from a daydream. Hiei looked at me a while and I looked into his lame eye. I was afraid to see what emotions his unharmed eye held.  
  
"Raizen. Yusuke needs to know what Raizen's up to..."  
  
I shuddered. Cold chills had just run through my body. There was something eerie lurking about my living room. When I turned to look into both of the youkai's eyes, I quickly noticed that he had felt something too. He looked mortally terrified. He lay there, stiff as a board, eyes wide with shock. But then, I noticed something else. I could see a turquoise glow from under Hiei's bandana; his third eye, the Jagan, was open. That couldn't be right; Hiei hardly ever had his Jagan Eye open. Only when he was using his Black Dragon Wave and sending or receiving telepathic messages, could the Jagan's glow be seen.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
Yusuke sat in his bed, trying desperately to fall sleep. But for some reason, he couldn't; every time Hiei or his stupid blind eye came to mind. He reached over and grabbed the letter from his mom. He had already read it numerous times, but maybe if he read it again, he would eventually fall sleep. That's when he heard footsteps coming towards his door. Without so much as a knock, the door was swung open, revealing Raizen... who was carrying a tray?  
  
"Hey Yusuke, you still feelin' sick?" Not even waiting for a reply, Raizen said, "I brought you some chicken noodle soup. My own recipe."  
  
Raizen left the tray on the desk besides Yusuke's bed and left the room. Yusuke stared at the steaming bowl of soup. What was wrong with Raizen? Was he drunk, high, or just losing his mind? It was strange because he was acting too parent-y.  
  
Probably poisoned it, Yusuke thought. But he was so hungry- he didn't really seem to care if it was poisoned or not. He picked up the bowl and the spoon, watching steam-clouds fly around his face. Finally, when he thought it had cooled long enough, he took a sip.  
  
He gagged. Looking into the bowl, he felt like he was going to vomit. Instead of the soup being smooth like a liquid should be, it was awfully gooey. Yusuke put his finger into the bowl, and began swirling it around the goo. It felt like yolk from a freshly cracked egg; it smelt like one too.  
  
Thirty minutes later, which seemed like enough time to eat a small bowl of soup, Raizen reentered the room. He didn't look nearly as happy as he had thirty minutes ago, but for some, that was probably a good thing. Raizen looked down at a half-written letter sitting on the desk next to a lamp. He picked it up, reading it carefully.  
  
He narrowed his eyes at Yusuke. "What's this?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"What does it look like? It's a letter to Mom."  
  
Without warning, the back of Raizen's hand made contact with Yusuke's cheek. He watched as a red mark began forming from the impact. Yusuke looked almost as surprised as he had been that day he found out that he was going to be living with Raizen.  
  
"Watch your tone, boy. You wouldn't want me doing anymore harm to your three-eyed friend, would you?" Two sets of eyes widened. Raizen's for not even thinking before he spoke, Yusuke was just out of utter surprise. "Oops. Well, I guess now you know," he recovered.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
Hiei was now on his hands and knees. Raizen had just sent him a telepathic message, and was somehow, beating Hiei from the inside. He could feel his chest tighten as it became harder for him to breathe.  
  
When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love  
  
You'll understand what I mean when I say  
  
There's no way we're gonna give up  
  
And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams  
  
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe  
  
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe  
  
- - - - - -  
  
A/N Yay! Chapter 4 done. Oh, and that last little part was from the song "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5. I don't even know why I added that in there; I just thought it kinda portrayed to what was happening at the moment.  
  
Anyway, as stated above, this chapter is for ID for lending me some of the ideas used in this chapter. She rules! Go read her Beyblade fics- they're awesome.  
  
Now, if you don't mind... *grabs Hiei plushie and begins walking away* I'll going to be with my love- a stuffed toy, so go read something else. Or wait around in your rooms for me to write the next chapter. Whatever you do, just leave me and my stuffed love alone! (If this little note has chased you away from anything else I write in the future, I understand and will forgive you)Oh, but before you go, leave me a review; I expect that much from you. 


	5. Hiei, Control Freak

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N This is becoming more of a Hiei-torture fic than an all-about-Yusuke fic. Oh well, I love torturing my baby (Yes, I'm weird, I know).  
  
- - - - - -  
  
"Watch your tone, boy. You wouldn't want me doing anymore harm to your three-eyed friend, would you?"  
  
Yusuke's eyes widened then grew into an angry scowl. "What have you been doing to Hiei?"  
  
Raizen shrugged. "I don't know. Beating him here and there." He smirked. It was disgusting; he actually seemed proud of himself. The only thing now was to figure out the how and why.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
(Hiei's POV)  
  
It felt as though a great snake was constricting itself around my lungs- I could barely breathe. And I was shaking violently due to my aching body. My head pounded too. I remembered Raizen sending me a none-too-sincere telepathic message, and then falling from a chair to the floor. I had totally forgotten why I had come here, and to where Kurama was.  
  
Then, I heard his soothing voice next to me. He was asking me something, but I couldn't hear him, just a bunch of baffled words. My Jagan Eye too, had woken from its sleep. It felt as though it was going to burst right from my forehead. Through the corner of my right eye, I saw Kurama stand up, and began chanting something- I still couldn't tell what. Next, a pink barrier began forming around me, and I noticed Kurama had used a sound- proofing charm; I must have been screaming from the shear pain.  
  
Falling from both hands and knees, I collapsed, chest-first, onto the living room carpet. Slowly, all my pain began to vanish. Kurama lifted the barrier. I lay there awhile, trying desperately to get my breath back, just in case I got another message from Raizen. Kurama knelt beside me; I didn't really know what he was doing though. He reached out his hand to help me up, but I just stared at it. And then, finally I grabbed it.  
  
"Are you all right, Hiei?" he asked shakily.  
  
I wanted to say 'no'. I wasn't fine; something that caused me great pain had just happened, and he was asking if I was all right? I shook my head, but answered: "Yes." I leaned my head back against the headrest of the chair I had been sitting in before. Whatever had just happened had really drained me; and I had been exhausted from the start. I guess I had fallen asleep for a brief second, when Kurama asked,  
  
"What happened?" He must have shaken me, because I awoke with a start; his emerald eyes were inches from my ruby ones. He asked his question again.  
  
"It was Raizen. He was telling me something- when I was about to tell you what he's been doing-" I was cut off as my head began throbbing, my eyes widening. Again, I felt my lungs getting pressed together. I hadn't had enough time to regain my strength from the last attack... I wasn't going to make it through this one...  
  
- - - - - -  
  
Raizen sat in the living room alone. He had the television on some ningen channel (people were sitting in chairs or fighting each other, the whole while the audience screamed something like, "Jerry!"),but he wasn't paying attention to it. He was more focused on his thoughts. He had just sent Hiei another message telepathically, along with some torturing pain.  
  
Mentally, Raizen patted himself on the back; he was really grateful that he had met someone who could teach him powerful telepathy. He had learned it from a lowly demon, and once he mastered his training, killed the one who taught him- with his newfound power, of course. Killing people, through physical contact, just wasn't as enjoyable anymore. Telepathy made the pain worse for those with a Jagan Eye.  
  
That was the price to pay when you got the Jagan implanted. It had a mind of its own, and whenever the Eye felt pain, so did its holder- only worse. The Jagan had the power to transfer a lot of pain to the Jaganshi (the name for the Eye's holder), therefore the Jagan was safe from dying, but Hiei was not. If Hiei died, the Jagan wouldn't. Surgically, the Eye could be removed from the fire demon and implanted into a new holder.  
  
Raizen smirked, saying, "If he wanted to, Hiei could rip the Eye from his head with his won two hands."  
  
"And what would happen if he did?" Yusuke stood beside the door, but was slowly making his way over to Raizen.  
  
"Oh, but then he would bleed to death," he said in a mock-tone. "Do you want to talk to him? He could use your support, son."  
  
Yusuke looked suspiciously at Raizen. "What do I have to do?"  
  
"Oh, nothing. Just focus your mind on talking to him; link your minds together. No one really needs to be trained into learning telepathy, they just have to focus."  
  
Yusuke did just as he was told. He tried focusing on Hiei's mind... to get a word in with him. Finally, he reached the core of the Jaganshi's sense. He tried to communicate.  
  
*Hiei? Hey, can you hear me? It's Yusuke.* (Hiei's already smashed lungs pressed further into each other, causing him to turn slightly blue in the face) *Hiei!*  
  
(Hiei tried to dislodge Yusuke's core from his own, but he was much too weak. Instead, he tried talking) *Yu-suke...stop...I can't...* Yusuke seemed to brighten inwardly as he received Hiei's message; though it was difficult to understand clearly.  
  
"By the way Yusuke, did I tell you that every time you talk to Hiei, you're slowly killing him from the inside-out?" Only when Raizen said this, did Yusuke realize what it was Hiei had been trying to tell him. He broke their connection immediately. (Hiei fell with another heart-pounding thud; still focused on breathing)  
  
Yusuke fumed. "Raizen, you son of a- why didn't you tell me before!" It was more of a demand than a question. The Warlord shifted his gaze towards the television, not bothering to confront Yusuke.  
  
The black-haired boy seemed to calm down a bit, but his face still showing great loath towards his father. He thought about Hiei, only not in the crude, harsh way he had been the past few weeks; what if he had truly hurt him? Raizen had been sending the demon messages earlier, had they weakened Hiei that much, that some small talk from Yusuke was enough to kill him?  
  
- - - - - -  
  
Hiei lied on the ground, unable to move. He had done his best to try and stay focused on breathing, which seemed to be working; but it was still coming in smaller and smaller gasps. Kurama felt pity of the fire demon; he had no idea as to what Hiei had gone through, but he did know that everything was drained from him.  
  
The youko walked over to Hiei, lifting his frail body into his arms. Hiei's breathing paused, afraid of what was happening, but continued as he realized that it was only Kurama who was taking him to lie down in a bed. He was gently placed on top of the covers, Kurama sitting by his feet.  
  
He pulled a small piece of paper from his coat pocket, and put it atop Hiei's bandana. It was a mind ward. "That'll keep Raizen out of your head while you sleep. Your Jagan's sleeping already." Kurama left the room, smiling as he watched Hiei's eyes droop.  
  
He's stable for now, the red-head told himself.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
A/N Shonen ai? Oh, no, of course not. But if your implemental minds want to see it that way, then I can't stop you. However you see it, is how you see it, I guess; I can't change that.  
  
That was chapter 5. Not nearly as long as chapter 4, but I'm doing it on purpose. You know that, right? Okay, just checking.  
  
I wub my widdle Hiei! Review for me and my plushie! If not, then you shall suffer the wrath of the angry sushi. And trust me; you don't want to meet the angry sushi. Just ask ID Thief, she had met angry sushi many times before. 


	6. Traitorous Hiei

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N I just noticed something last chapter, where the hell is Kuwabara during all this? *narrows eyes* Hmm... I knew he was up to know good! Damn you, Kuwa!  
  
- - - - - -  
  
(Yusuke's POV)  
  
Kuwabara and I were over at Kurama's trying to get some information about what had happened to Hiei. I tried asking the youkai himself, but he was too exhausted to say much; I figured since Kurama had been there, maybe he knew something I didn't. He began telling me most of what happened, a lot I could already figure out of myself. But just as Kurama started with more details, the phone rang.  
  
"Koenma?" Uh oh. I knew that couldn't be good. Koenma never used the telephone to contact us, unless it was a dire emergency. Kurama came back, and told us the situation. "Another mission. He wants us there now." So much for explaining. "He wants you to stay here, Hiei." That's it, more details, fox-boy.  
  
Hiei scowled. "I'm not going to sit this mission out, Kurama. It isn't like Raizen," he sent me an icy glare, "is going to find me in the Makai." Uhh, Raizen was from the Makai, of course he'd find you! Though this screamed over and over in my head, I ignored it; if I said it aloud, Hiei and I would start another argument, and then we'd be late of the mission.  
  
"What kind of mission is it? I mean, what do we have to do?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"Koenma didn't say much. Just that a gang of demons have been stealing important artifacts." Great, we were going to go play superhero while Raizen stayed home and practiced more telepathy.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
"Hiei! Hey, what're you doing?" The black flames of the Darkness Dragon were forming very rapidly around Hiei's fist and arm. No one knew exactly what he was doing- hopefully he wasn't planning on wasting his energy trying to hit Raizen. Especially at that distance. But, with a wave of his hand, Hiei turned direction.  
  
At the group's surprised looks, Raizen said, "Don't you get it? Hiei's been under my control ever since you first entered the Makai!" He smirked. "He was wrong to say I would never find you here... Now, my puppet, go! Go and kill your teammates, or what you've come to know, as your friends."  
  
Hiei obeyed; the flames of the Darkness Dragon now entirely covering his warded arm. It was hard to explain how Hiei had gathered enough energy to call the Dragon. Right before they entered the Makai, he was having trouble standing.  
  
Just as he was about to release his attack, Raizen released his control over Hiei's mind. The fire youkai watched in horror as his Dragon Wave inched its way closer and closer to his friends. He was already weak, so there was no possible way for him to call off the Dragon. But what happened next surprised them all.  
  
With another wave of his hand, Raizen called off Hiei's dragon, and they watched it soar off into the sky. Yusuke sank to the ground; he was relieved to be alive. As Raizen looked down upon them, his face was one of disgust. If he despised the detectives so much, why did he bother saving them from Hiei's attack?  
  
- - - - - -  
  
(Raizen's POV)  
  
He was depriving himself of some much needed sleep; they all were. Yeah, that's right, all four of them. I had agreed to let my son have, what he called, a 'sleepover', but only if he promised to stay out of my hair for a while. Besides, it was all about the parent-thing. If someone found out that I wasn't acting like a parent should, then Yusuke would be taken away. I licked my lips. [1]  
  
Or worse. They would find out what I really am. What was I saying? That was impossible. No one was actually going to see me; not at this hour. I had reverted back to my demon form. My ningen form seemed to have a few complications- things I did not approved of.  
  
My canines were forced to be shaped like the rest of the teeth in the back of my mouth. Flat. My long hair, was to be tied, therefore, the way I normally wore it -down- wouldn't attract as much attention; I wore my bandana just as I had seen Hiei wear his, directly under his bangs. Things just weren't as easy as they were when I was in the Makai. When I was there, I never had to worry about my appearance. I could look... however I pleased.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
"You think he's asleep yet? I wanna go raid your fridge."  
  
Everyone turned to Kuwabara. "You didn't come here to eat my food, Kuwabara. Besides, Raizen doesn't sleep." The thought didn't escape anyone, but they were wishing that he go to bed. If Raizen was sleeping, then they could devise a plan to stop him without being overheard.  
  
"It doesn't matter." The Tantei turned to Hiei questionably. "He isn't stupid enough to try anymore of his assaults."  
  
"And what makes you so sure about that?" Kuwabara pressed.  
  
"Hiei's body couldn't possibly withstand another assault. Raizen drains him more than the Kokuryuha," Kurama answered. Before Kuwabara or Yusuke could protest, he began again. "He won't try anything unless we're all together. While Hiei's out of the game, we're safe."  
  
Yusuke looked at him skeptically. "I doubt that... I think I would know my own father."  
  
Hiei scowled at him. "And we're over five hundred years older than you. We know Raizen better than you ever will."  
  
In the next room, Raizen sneezed. [2]  
  
"But he's still my dad. You haven't been around him as long as I have!" Yusuke started.  
  
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow. "Urameshi, he just said..." And for a split second, Kurama could have sworn he saw flame surround the fire youkai's small form.  
  
"By the way, Hiei, I told Keiko about Raizen..." The fire demon's eyes showed a hint of curiosity, but he kept his mouth shut. Yusuke smirked, and said, "Least I tell other people about my family. If I had a sister, I certainly...wouldn't be afraid of her."  
  
Hiei's jaw dropped; Yusuke was talking about Yukina. He wasn't afraid of her...or was he. He shook his head- that didn't matter. He had been insulted by one of the few people he called a friend. Hiei stared daggers at the ningen detective, then in a second, had disappeared from the room.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
(Hiei's POV)  
  
I was sitting in my tree in the ningen park, trying to forget everything that had happened that day, when an un-too-familiar face came and started calling my name. It was the orange-haired Kuwabara. It didn't surprise me when he began yelling threats at me; it was actually kind of amusing- it got things off my mind.  
  
*Go away...* I told him telepathically. I smirked inwardly as he began searching around him for the source of my voice. "Up here." I pitied him; it was obvious the kid wasn't bright, but I knew he wasn't a complete moron.  
  
He smiled at me with a toothy grin when he seemed to have realized that I was sitting above him the whole time. He pointed to his forehead, as though indicating he had received my message. I just rolled my eyes and leaned back against the tree. I nearly lost my balance when Kuwabara said:  
  
"Oi, get down here. I wanna talk to you."  
  
"What about? I don't have time to listen to you babble about Yukina."  
  
Kuwabara had known for some time about Yukina and I, but I hated talking about it, especially with someone like him, so the topic was hardly ever brought up by anyone. True, I liked knowing of my sister's whereabouts, but having them told by Kuwabara was just idiotic. He never really wanted to talk about her; more like talking about himself and how someday, he and her were to be wed. Feh, he'd have to get my approval on the matter.  
  
"No. No, it's not about that. Look, would ya just get down here?"  
  
Sighing, I jumped from the highest branch on the tree. A ningen woman and her small child looked at me, perplexed. I guess jumping from high trees wasn't something ningens did often. I must've been right, because the woman ushered her son away, all the while staring at me in horror.  
  
"Sit," Kuwabara said.  
  
I looked at him curiously; almost angrily. I hated being on the ground. Up high is where I belonged, somewhere where I could tower above everyone; not like on the ground. On the ground, I literally looked up to everyone.  
  
I sprawled myself on the ground facing upward. Kurama had said he had once gazed up at the clouds- seeing if he could make out pictures; he also said it was one of his ways to relax. I too tried gazing up at the clouds, but was unable to see anything but the clouds themselves. Kuwabara came and sat beside me.  
  
"This isn't about Yukina; it's about Urameshi and the things he said to you earlier."  
  
I felt hot rage building up inside of me. It was bad enough Kuwabara brought me down from my tree to talk to me, but now he wanted to talk about Yusuke. Yusuke was one of the people I didn't want to talk about for a very long time...  
  
"What he said to you today was rude. You know, about Yukina and all. We all know you have your reasons for not telling her-"  
  
My anger suddenly spread throughout my body. What the hell was Kuwabara getting at? He said this wasn't about Yukina... and then he says this!  
  
"-but I have to know something. Why didn't you tell Keiko about Raizen? I got that you wanted to 'protect her'...but..."  
  
I sighed. If I wanted to get rid of Kuwabara, I would have to answer all his questions as truthfully as possible.  
  
"I didn't do it for her. I did it to save my own ass."  
  
I continued to look up at the darkening sky. The white clouds where now turning into ones of gray and dullness. A raindrop fell upon my face, sliding down my cheek. From another's eye, it would have looked like a tear from my eye. But Kuwabara and I knew better; it really had been my own tear, it would have solidified into an ebony gem before it reached the ground.  
  
"It was because of Raizen, that I did it. Why I told Yusuke that lie. I was order to by Raizen. If I refused... he'd..."  
  
Suddenly a wave of pain washed over me. But this wasn't because of Raizen's telepathic powers. I knew he had the power to hurt me from the inside, but this felt different. It wasn't as painful, but it did get Kuwabara's attention. Or at least...I thought that's what had gotten his attention. That is, until he proved me wrong.  
  
"He'd what? What would Raizen do?"  
  
I flinched from the pain, but soon realized that it was subsiding. I let out a great sigh of relief. Remembering Kuwabara still hadn't gotten his question answered, I replied:  
  
"He'd...kill me."  
  
I wasn't afraid of death. Sometimes...I welcomed it. Un-oddly enough, Kuwabara took that more seriously than I did. I chuckled, and continued staring at the graying clouds. My eyes widened as I finally got a glimpse of a formation of the clouds. It was my mother...Hina. My smirk faded as I remembered the day horrible day of my birth.  
  
The clouds released their water, and it began to pour.  
  
- - - - - -  
  
A/N Wal-la! Finally finished... I wish I wouldn't have made this fic so long; school's starting on the 18th, and I won't have a lot of time to update. Gomen nasai. I hope this chapter interested you in some way, it bored me (and I'm being 100% serious). Review, please.  
  
Oh, the ideas used for the end of this chapter, were 'bought' from Identity Thief, yet again. And yes, I paid for them too. With my... "totally made- up, internet money". ^_^  
  
[1]- No, Raizen is not a cannibal. What he did is just what evil people do, ya hear?  
  
[2]- Do you ever hear, like, in the anime/manga, that when someone sneezes it means that someone is talking, or thinking, about them? 


	7. Tears

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N I've been inspired...by my own fic! Wait, is that possible? Oh. Well, let's see how this goes.  
  
*holds up right hand* I solemnly swear to refrain from any Hiei-torture throughout the rest of this chapter. ¬_¬  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
(Kuwabara's POV)  
  
I watched closely as the fire youkai began to stir; then he slowly opened his eyes. He took in his surroundings and then stared at me blankly. After a few moments staring, I said,  
  
"Hey, shrimp. Hello, Hiei! Are you okay?"  
  
Hiei shook his head, bringing himself out of his daze, then looked at his boots. "When's the bus coming?"  
  
"Huh? Oh..." That's when I remembered that the reason we were waiting at a bus stop, was to catch the bus to Kurama's apartment. "It already came," I said a bit timidly. I knew what was coming next, so I prepared myself for the worst.  
  
Hiei's eyes widened. "WHAT? Why didn't you say anything?"  
  
"Uh, well... you said you wanted to keep a low profile. I figured that if I woke you up, you might go all green on me and use your Jagan." I paused and smirked. "Besides, you looked so cute while you were sleeping." I knew Hiei wouldn't like my teasing, but what was I gonna do? He was pissed as it was already.  
  
"Idiot! Now we're never going to make it to Kurama's- what time is it?"  
  
I looked at the watch I had gotten for my last birthday. It had a special picture of me and Eikichi. It read "7:44PM." For a second, I thought I felt Hiei's ki rise to an almost unbelievable level, but then as quick as it came, it was gone. Suddenly, it flared back up.  
  
It's not like it was my fault. Jeez, Hiei was the one who had fallen asleep... but I guess I couldn't blame him. Whatever had been happening over the last few days was really taking everything out of him. And I mean everything; including his lunch (not necessary, Kuwabara -.-).  
  
"Umm...can I tell Yusuke? I mean, about how Raizen's been threatening your life?"  
  
Hiei looked at me with those devilishly cold eyes of his, the Jagan glowing red underneath his bandana. Was it a sin to be curious? Because the way he looked at me, it sure felt like it was.  
  
"No! You can't do that!" he sounded panicked. "I have to help Raizen further his plans to kill you all, and if you tell Yusuke, it will just ruin everything-" Hiei stared at me wide-eyed; I stared back. What had he just said: he was planning on killing us? Before I could question the answer in question, I figured I had better call Yusuke and Kurama and let them know about what had just come out of Hiei's mouth.  
  
I grabbed some loose change from my uniform pocket and started for the closest payphone. Hiei had vanished before I reached for the receiver.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Good work, Hiei... now they know exactly what I'm up too!" Raizen shouted at his servant, who remained forcefully kneeling at his feet.  
  
"Yusuke may not be bright, but surely by now he's already suspected your plan, Raizen. He's no fool... Remember, you were the one controlling me at the park." Hiei chuckled, forgetting his place.  
  
Raizen squeezed the youkai's throat, cutting off his air's passageway; he was doing it with his telekinesis, for he seemed to be favoring them lately. Hiei hung limply in his captor's grasp. He knew Raizen needed him and that not too much harm would come of him. He began to cough once he was released, trying to regain his breath.  
  
The fire demon hoped that, for once more, Kuwabara would neglect to listen to what he [Raizen] had said, and tell the others about his situation.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"That's what he told you, is it?" Kurama turned to face the window of his apartment. "...Raizen's plotting to kill him, and then us."  
  
"But the question is: is Hiei doing this voluntarily? We, probably better than Hiei thinks, know that he's overall, a pretty decent guy... He wouldn't do anything like this, would he?" Yusuke asked, curiously awaiting the other's answers.  
  
"You're forgetting that he's also sworn revenge against you, Yusuke; the time you fought him for possession of the Shadow Sword. He might be taking this opportunity to get that revenge now."  
  
"Or on the squid mission," Kuwabara commented. "You two haven't been getting along since then. What you did back there was pretty low, Urameshi. I know, for sure, that I'd want my revenge on you as soon as I could get it."  
  
Kurama's bedroom door creaked as it opened slowly, and a voice spoke:  
  
"But revenge, as you know it, is a dish better served cold...rather than hot." [1]  
  
"Hiei, how did you get in here?"  
  
"Shouldn't you know? You're still leaving your window unlocked; still expecting my nightly visits. I closed it for you though. Wouldn't want any intruders breaking in, now would we?"  
  
The youkai's voice was ice cold and full of ruthlessness. He was acting quite cocky, as well.  
  
"Feeling a bit tense with a traitor in your wake? Come now, kill me. I can feel your hatred towards Raizen...towards me," Hiei continued, his voice wavering some. It now seemed as if he were beginning to lose confidence in himself.  
  
His voice then lowered itself to an almost inaudible level. "Raizen's been using me... don't you care? He's made me betray you all...made me lose your trust. Kill me now, end my suffering... It's what I want."  
  
Hiei fell on his hands and knees, looking as if he were under another one of Raizen's spells. His body was shaking violently. Something then fell on the ground, making the sound of a marble hitting wood floors. The sound came again, and then twice more.  
  
"If you do me that, then you'll be doing yourself a favor as well. Raizen...he, he wouldn't have anyone else to control; meaning that you needn't worry about him spying on you anymore. And I'll be out of the way too."  
  
Hiei looked up to reveal a most unconceivable image. His eyes were straining to hold in tears. They sat there, in the corners of his eyes, just waiting for any given moment to fall. Ashamed of his appearance, the youkai turned away, swiftly; during this quick movement, a single tears drop flew from Hiei's blinded eye, solidifying into the form of a hiraseki stone.  
  
That's when Kurama saw the others on his apartment floor. He knelt down, scooping up five ebony tears gems, placing them in his coat pocket, and then retreating to his spot by the window.  
  
"We're not going to kill you," he said, fingering the pearls in his pocket. "If you didn't want Raizen toying around in your head... then you should have asked me for another ward; like the one I used on you the night before."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N Wow. Haha, if it weren't for Immortal Sadness, then you guys would be waiting another five months for me to update the fic. It was short, but it was an update. I'll try to make it longer next time to make up for it.  
  
[1]- what this means, is that revenge is better when you get it later...not right away. Take your revenge long after you plot it. The said quote is a cliché. Never do what I did, and use them in your writing (at least, that's what my journalism teacher tells me). 


	8. Raizen's Accomplice

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N This fic is giving me the worst case of writer's block that I have ever had the pleasure to experience. Blah to you all.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I don't understand why Hiei never informed one of us about his situation with Raizen until now. If it was something as serious as this..." Kurama said, leaning on the demi-god's huge desk. "I mean..."  
  
Every time it seemed as though the fox wanted to say something further, his mind would go blank and his words would die. Koenma blinked, clearly aware of the situation at hand.  
  
"I would have thought that, you Kurama, would understand the seriousness of Hiei's actions. If he were to go tell the whole of you about Raizen's threats.... He knew he was in a bind."  
  
"It just doesn't make sense. Hiei's neglected orders before-some more serious than now- so I don't see why he must heed Raizen's."  
  
Seeing as Kurama wasn't going to drop this subject, Koenma thought it the time to let the fox in on a secret. The demi-god sighed and pulled out a manila folder from a drawer in his overly large desk.  
  
"I got this yesterday; it's related to Raizen's case," Koenma stated, waving the manila folder in front of him monotonously.  
  
Shaking his head, Kurama reached for the folder; the tag at the top read Akitama, Kuyo. Inside, was an exceedingly long report about the said demon. Paper clipped to one side of the folder was a small picture of the fire youkai; he had a large amount of flames surrounding him, making him look silhouetted.  
  
"I don't get it. What's this got to do with-?"  
  
"-read over the file," Koenma instructed before the kitsune could start asking further questions.  
  
Kurama put his eyes back to the folder in his hands. He began reading the first few lines.  
  
Akitama, Kuyo- Hair: Black-  
  
Age: Unknown (+1,400)- Eyes: Brown- Height: 6'2"- Weight: Unknown- Type: Fire- Blood Type: AB-  
  
'More commonly known as Kuro-sama, this demon is just about as ruthless as they come.... He's quick and conniving.... Loves picking on small demons and children.'  
  
Kurama sighed. This was a joke. Koenma's onis were going to have to learn that when filing a report, you weren't supposed to be writing a personality profile. He rolled his eyes as the demi-god looked at him sternly.  
  
'...Has currently formed an alliance with Raizen (see Raizen, # 4,681).... Also thought to have killed Yomi... (Kurama skimmed 3 pages deeper, reading over the final sentence in the report). Is reported to have one son, now living in the Ningenkai; other whereabouts are unknown at this time.'  
  
Koenma took the manila folder from the now trembling Kurama.  
  
"I see," the youko faltered, straightening his back and running a hand through his hair, uneasily.  
  
"It would please me if you didn't tell the others about this. They've got too much on their minds right now, especially Hiei. I knew you could handle it, though. Promise me, Kurama."  
  
"S-sure," he smiled, uncertainly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Upon returning to his apartment, Kurama found his little house in ruins. The bed sheets, which Hiei had been sleeping on the night before, were dangling from the ceiling fan. Pots and pans were still on the stove, the stove was still on, dishes were piled about a foot high in the sink, and the refrigerator had something sticky on its handle. The living room had papers thrown everywhere and a piece of paper was taped to the TV screen.  
  
"Hiei left. Went to find him at Genkai's. Sincerely, Yusuke and Kuwabara," Kurama read, pulling the note off the TV. Looking closer at the note, the fox noticed two horribly drawn pictures of the said friends beating up on each other.  
  
Shaking his head in amusement, Kurama began his cleaning.  
  
Kurama felt exhausted after climbing the many stairs towards the temple that was Genkai's. It was already two hours since he had arrived back at his apartment and received the note from his friends. He still had yet to be notified about Hiei's whereabouts.  
  
Heavy footfalls startled the fox, causing him to turn around. Yusuke and Kuwabara were running up the stairs, neither of them looked pleased to see him. A long, white piece of cloth was wedged between Yusuke's clenched fist.  
  
Hiei's bandana.  
  
"Where is he?" Kurama asked eagerly.  
  
Yusuke was bent over, his hands on his knees, trying desperately to catch his breath. So, Kuwabara spoke for him.  
  
"When we got here, he was fighting with Raizen." Kuwabara pointed to the side of his head, indicating what exactly had happened. "Then, his eyes turned red; we think he was being controlled, because then he left to the city, without saying a word," he paused before continuing. "By the time we got there, he had already killed a small group of people...."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The police were already on the scene by the time the detectives plus Botan and a teenage Koenma arrived. The bodies of the people their friend had killed were already in bags and getting ready to leave for examination. Their blood was still pasted on the sidewalk. The fire department was there as well; their hose was spraying the ground about ten feet from two totaled sedans.  
  
As the bodies were getting ready to leave, Koenma leaned over and whispered something to his assistant. Botan nodded vigorously, and then ran into an alleyway. Seconds later, she could be seen by the detectives, flying off on her oar.  
  
"How are you going to deal with Hiei's case?" Kurama asked, curiously. His question caught the attention of his two friends, because they quickly turned to Koenma, who answered,  
  
"I'll have to take it into serious consideration. Hiei is forbidden to take human life! ...But seeing as he was supposedly being controlled-"  
  
"-What do you mean 'supposedly'? Urameshi and I told you what happened!"  
  
"Kuwabara, if I went around believing what everyone told me, well then I'd probably be the stupidest person on this planet or Spirit World. Just because you thought Hiei was being controlled, doesn't necessarily mean that he was. I'll just have to consider everything else that Hiei's done in the past."  
  
Yusuke gulped. If Koenma was going to base this whole thing on how Hiei used to be, then he was screwed. He had once killed in his past life, but the youkai just wasn't that kind of person anymore!  
  
The ningen took a step forward. Without even knowing what he was doing, Yusuke had slipped under the yellow strip of tape that separated him from the accident that Hiei had caused. "What happened here?" Yusuke asked, trying to sound as if he didn't already know himself.  
  
The officer in front just looked at him, then resumed his work.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hiei," Raizen purred. "Welcome back; how're you feeling?"  
  
Hiei sat up, groaning. The truth was, his body ached and his head felt as though someone had dropped a cement block on it.  
  
"I'm fine," he answered, avoiding his aches. The youkai looked down at his right arm as he felt a slight burning. "Where're my wards?"  
  
"You don't remember? You used the Kokuryuha on a lot of innocent ningens this afternoon," Raizen smirked, looking very pleased with himself. "And since you're looking better, I've brought someone for you to meet."  
  
Hiei stared at the ground, but not really looking at anything (what?). He tried desperately to remember what he had done, but his mind came up blank. Maybe Raizen was lying to him; he was known for doing so in the past.  
  
"Come out, my friend."  
  
Hiei followed Raizen's gaze into the shadows. Out stepped a tall ebony- haired youkai. He was roughly about six feet, and had the most intriguing mahogany, almond-shaped eyes. Raizen held out his arms in front, as if the youkai were showed, display-cased item. He was smirking all the while.  
  
"Hiei, this is Kuro-sama; he's your...father."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N Bwa. There, this chapter was about half a page longer than the last. Very good, very good. Anyway, throughout the rest of this story I'm going to be calling Hiei's "daddy-yo" a number of different things: Kuro-sama, Kuyo, Akitama, or whatever else I've been calling him. 


	9. Family Relative Again

Torn Apart by: Sakura  
  
A/N Ahh, the pain, the agony of it all! Why, oh why did I have to bring yet another character into the plotline? And why does it have to be the one with the silly name? Wait, you're saying I named him? Oh, well in that case... ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The demon was tall and very well-built. He looked down upon Hiei with what appeared to be a loathsome stare. But if this was truly who Raizen claimed him to be... Was it possible to hate your own offspring?  
  
Yes, yes it was. If Raizen could hate Yusuke, then most definitely would this stranger hate his own son. His eyes were cold; Hiei had obviously received his father's eyes-maybe not the color, but the shape and ruthlessness.  
  
"Don't you remember me? I was the one, in fact, that raised you." This was the first time he had spoken since he had arrived. His voice made the hairs on the back of Hiei's neck stand on end. He had chills. This stranger was terrifying.  
  
"Y-you couldn't possibly have raised me. I was brought up far from the Koorime islands; Far from the volcanic palaces that most fire demons have the pleasure of living." As Hiei spoke, his voice gained strength, and it was no longer wavering.  
  
Raizen chuckled from the side.  
  
"As a child, you suffered from anesthesia; No one quite could understand why; most say it was Hina who erased your memory. I, on the other hand, believe that it was you who wanted to forget your horrible past," the stranger informed.  
  
At Hiei's stunned expression, Raizen spoke, offering to lighten the mood....  
  
"Now that Kuro-sama and I have joined forces, our damage will be much worse than originally intended. And with you-unexpected by your team-will also help me accomplish my goals. It'll be wondrous!"  
  
...Through his lighthearted explanation, Raizen did nothing but worsen the already bad atmosphere.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The team was up all night, settling on whether or not to refuse Hiei's case. It was confirmed that he was, indeed being controlled by Raizen, but Koenma was still uncertain about things.  
  
They now sat, lazily and sleepily, on the porch of Genkai's temple, waiting for further verdicts. Botan had returned from her duties late that evening, and was now helping Yukina prepare snacks for the tuckered out friends.  
  
"This is starting to get ridiculous," Kurama said, leaning his head against a nearby railing. "We all know what Raizen's trying to do: he wants us convinced that Hiei's on our side."  
  
"But Hiei is on our side," Yusuke snapped.  
  
"While that may be partly true, you're forgetting that Raizen can control Hiei when and wherever he so desires. Letting your friendship get in the way is exactly what he wants to happen. He knows that--"  
  
Kurama next words were muffled, as a loud scream emitted from inside the temple, and the crash of a clayed mug shattering followed suite. While Kuwabara had been taking a small catnap, the loud sounds caused him to jerk awake and slam his head against the wooden sliding doors.  
  
The trio leapt up, rushing inside to see what had caused Yukina to scream. They came into the shrine room, where she had been sent to sweep. What she found, sleeping fitfully behind a giant statue of Buddha, was none other than Hiei. The Koorime had her hands clamped over her mouth, as to avoid waking her brother.  
  
Yusuke reached out to touch the fire demon's shoulder. His hand quickly recoiled, and he held it close to his chest for better examination; there was a slight burn mark.  
  
"He's raised a barrier, and it's sizzling to the touch," the ningen commented.  
  
Why Hiei would raise a heat barrier around him was unknown. Heat was trapped inside with him and he seemed to be sweating it off.  
  
"That barrier-Hiei won't be able to hear us. He'll need to wake up on his own," Kurama said, sitting Indian-style on the floor, just a few feet from the sleeping sanjiyan. There was silence, and it looked like Kurama was trying to think of something. Then finally he said, "Yukina, do you think you could try your Koorime healing powers on Hiei's barrier? The major difference in your 'attacks' can weaken it; it'll be easier since he's asleep."  
  
Yukina looked puzzled, but knew that the fox's judgment was rarely miscalculated. So, she nodded and crawled over to Hiei. She placed her hands just inches from the barrier and began to concentrate. Just after a few seconds, and she could already feel the intensity of the heat. Though her ice powers were strong, Yukina didn't quite know if they were strong enough.  
  
Hiei's barrier flickered, which was a good sign. The girl gave one last burst of her power and the shield diminished. The small room was hit with a strong wave of heat, before Kuwabara ran to open the doors. Hiei curled into a tighter ball, opening his eyes just barely.  
  
His eyes then jolted open, as he realized his company. After saying a few colorful words, Hiei stretched himself out amongst the giant Buddha. He then, only now, realized that his barrier was gone. He was freezing cold. But that's when his interrogation began.  
  
"Hiei, did you really kill those people in the city?"  
  
He obviously said something wrong, because when he shook his head, everyone attacked him.  
  
"Oh, so you're a liar now?"  
  
"We know you did, so why didn't you just answer truthfully?"  
  
"Hiei!"  
  
"Koenma's dealing with your case now, and your lying didn't help."  
  
Hiei had no memory of killing anyone, so he didn't know why it really mattered. Yukina was the only one kind enough to see the problem. He was shivering. Badly.  
  
"Are you cold, Hiei-san?" she asked.  
  
Hiei looked into his sister's tender eyes. She hadn't used that honorific with him for some time. Since before Raizen returned.  
  
He was indeed very cold, not that anyone had taken notice of. They were all too busy trying to chew out information from him. Information that he didn't know anything about. He nodded at Yukina's kind words. She, in return, brushed hair away from his face, nudging her fingers to touch his forehead. She took her hand away, looking concerned.  
  
"Hiei-san, you have a fever," she said a bit louder than her usual tone. She wanted to inform their friends.  
  
It worked, because they stopped their bickering and looked over to the siblings. Their angry faces fell as they saw Hiei's condition. He was breathing heavily; he was covered in warm sweat, and was shivering violently.  
  
Hiei closed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. All he could see, at the moment, was a bunch of blurry, swirling people sitting before him. He also felt dizzy.  
  
What had caused him to become ill? He wished he could answer promptly, but he could only think that it was caused by all the stress he was going through. What, with Raizen taking control every so many hours a day, and then introducing him to his father. Hiei could handle it anymore.  
  
Someone was calling his name, but they seemed so far away, and whenever they spoke their words made his head pound. He felt someone touch his shoulder softly. But even that seemed distant.  
  
He opened his eyes, only to close them again as he collapsed heavily into Yukina's lap.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hiei recollected his thoughts as he sat up slowly. He had had another nightmare-no, it was the same nightmare that had plagued him since the day he was born. His mother, Hina, the tears she cried for him, Yukina and her never-ending quest to find her brother, and the cliff; the cliff that was supposed to have been his end.  
  
But it wasn't. He was found by his father, who raised him to be the cold, horrible demon that he was today. The demon that, unwillingly, was returning to help his father and Raizen take control over everything. Hiei ran a hand through his mangled hair. Why couldn't he been born a ningen? His life would have been better.  
  
He put his hand on the side of the bed, but when he felt skin, he looked down, shocked. It was Yukina. She had obviously stayed with him while he was sleeping; while he was sick. He placed his hand on her head. She was so good to him. Why couldn't he return the favor and just tell her his one, remaining secret?  
  
He was sure she had been the one that removed his heat barrier. He could hear it in one of those distant voices. But, he hands were burned because of it. She shouldn't have done that; it was a waste of her time, and she had suffered the consequences.  
  
Hiei removed the ragged wards from his right arm and took Yukina's small hands into his. The least he could do now was to make sure that they didn't get infected and scar worse. He wrapped her hands, and then laid them softly on his leg.  
  
The room began spinning, so Hiei laid his head back against the soft pillow. Apparently, he was still weak. He closed his eyes, allowing his uncovered Jagan to glow angrily.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N Man, where's the love? I can tell you this: it's not between Hiei and Yukina. What you read was sibling love, something I would know nothing about, seeing as I am sibling-less. Aww, boo-hoo, right?  
  
Okay, ladies and gents, I have decided to change the summary of this fic, because, well, it doesn't even fit the story plot anymore. But, fortunately, I'm going back to the original storyline in the next chapter. Yay! I decided to take a break for my little fire-baby. I also need to work on a DBZ sequel before Badi gets tired of waiting and tries to *choke* me. That wouldn't be good, would it? Review, for me, 'kay? 


	10. Reminiscence

Torn Apart by: Sakura

A/N Man, did I make a mistake. Last chapter I said Hiei suffered from "anesthesia", which is why he didn't remember his father, but the truth of the matter is that he suffered from "amnesia". Anesthesia and amnesia are totally different things. I can't believe I did that....Now I'm embarrassed.

- - -

Hiei was awakened from his slumber by a dull burning at his Jagan Eye; it was Raizen. Over the many weeks that Hiei had been used as a puppet for the demon lord, he had learned to make his body almost immune to Raizen's mind tricks.

"What do you want?" he asked almost groggily.

"The stage is set, Hiei. It's time to put your father's—"

Hiei gritted his teeth. "He isn't my father."

"Hiei!" Raizen snapped. "...Kuyo has worked around your team's emotions towards you, and we have decided to start the action now before your body can fully withstand the pressure of my telekinesis."

"And what if Yusuke figures it out?"

As Raizen thought of a reply, the tingling in Hiei's forehead ceased.

"He won't." Hiei waited, expecting more. When none came he said,

"And what of Kurama? The fox has proved to be more useful when it comes to his enemy's tactics than anyone else on the spirit team. He'll realize something's up—"

There was a soft knock on the door; Hiei almost didn't hear it. He waited, it came again. Raizen waited, carefully listening through Hiei's ears, to see why the youkai had stopped.

Hiei waited for the door to open, and it did; he looked down, cursing under his breath. It was Kurama. The redhead stared a Hiei a moment, his eyes showing a tint of concern and puzzlement.

"Hiei, is there something wrong?"

The fire demon's confusion showed clearly on his face. Was Kurama making a mockery of him? He cleared his head, his eyes once again resuming his father's scowl.

"Why would there be?" Hiei snorted.

"...Because your Jagan's glowing."

At Hiei's bewildered face, Kurama only smiled. It was obvious; even through the bandana anyone would be able to see the fiery red glow of the youkai's false eye.

"I just came to tell you Hiei, that we were assigned another mission this morning. Koenma was wondering if you were feeling up to going," Kurama paused, remembering the situation at hand. "He's still reviewing your case, but said it wouldn't hurt if you wanted to come."

As Kurama left, Raizen let out a moan of pleasure.

"Well, are you going?" he asked.

"If I'm allowed," Hiei retorted.

"Go ahead. No one's stopping you."

- - -

But Hiei didn't go, not really. He went to Makai, but not with the team. He had actually left Ningenkai right after the detectives did. He was going to be meeting up with Raizen to discuss their battle strategy. Or rather, their attack plan to eliminate Yusuke.

For the first time in weeks, Hiei felt totally relaxed; his muscles weren't tense and he didn't cringe whenever he heard a small sound at the opposite end of the room. He put his arms behind his head as he leaned further into the wall. Though the small youkai felt at ease, Raizen surely was not.

If anything, the demon lord was feeling restless. He had his arms at his sides and was pacing furiously around the perimeter of the large room. If he heard anything that resembled the sound of footsteps, he'd stop suddenly, looking towards the door. Hiei found it quite amusing when he sneezed and Raizen nearly jumped out of his skin.

Finally he asked, "What's bugging you, Rai?" Hiei sniggered at the nickname he had just given to Raizen. Normally, that was something he would _never_ do.

Raizen brushed it off and answered, "Nothing.... When's that damned father of yours—?"

"You are somewhat of a telepath, am I wrong?" said a voice from the shadows. "...I was dealing with another client, Raizen."

Raizen looked cross, but said nothing of it. "Now, about Yusuke and his team," his menacing smirk spread across his face as he turned to Hiei. Raizen's sudden mood-changing was rather alarming.

"Yes, let's get started, shall we?" Kuyo folded his arms across his chest, taking a few steps away from the shadowy wall.

"Wait." Hiei walked forward, placing himself between the two. "Before you start your death-raiding plans, tell me this: What happened on the Ningenkai street?"

"Oh yes, of course. You'll want to hear of that," Kuyo said, smiling manically. "Here's the gist: I thought it would be amusing to see you killing the ningens, so Raizen sent you one of the strongest telepathic messages he could muster, and told you to his orders. You then had one of your little episodes, where those two human detectives tried to get in the way; but as we knew, you were fast enough to escape from them."

"As soon as you reached the city, you almost immediately began killing whoever was there; you caused car crashes, and of course, you released your Dragon on them," Raizen finished. "We called you back here, where you passed out, leaving that toddler Koenma to deal with the damage in the streets."

It didn't take long at all for Hiei to get over the shock of having found out that he nearly leveled a part of a Ningenkai city. He merely shrugged his shoulders, looking as though he could care less. But in reality, inside this was eating away at Hiei. The guilt of having to live up to Koenma when time came to sentence him for his crimes was too much. But he was not going to let his father or Raizen see him that way. No, Hiei was much too proud a youkai. And for once, he'd been afraid. Afraid of what Raizen or his father would do to him if they found any of this out. He was afraid of _dying_.

It seemed ridiculous. Hiei—the one who more commonly talked about his worthless existence—was more terrified of dying than afraid. He was much more beyond the stage of being afraid. He sighed dolefully.

- - -

Kuyo was one of the more ruthless of demons. From what few knew of him, he was not always as coldhearted as he was now. Now was clearly just a cover-up for the life he once lived. Kuyo's callous was more of a security blanket than anything else.

The youkai had befallen a young Koorime and had, at first, hated the girl. She was a child of ice, while he, Kuyo was born from another element—he was born under the element of fire. He had been taught as a child that if he were to ever come across an ice child that he was to kill it. This, by chance, happened to be the first time he had ever seen a youkai of ice up this close. The young maiden seemed to be no threat to Kuyo, but when he saw her, the remembrance of his parents' teachings nagged at his brain.

At this time, Kuyo was 17, a newly born to most of demons. He gazed intently at the Koorime girl. When she noticed him, she was taken aback; this must have been her first meeting with a youkai of Kuyo's heritage. She smiled meekly; Kuyo could tell it was forced. But he did not return his smile. Instead he turned his back and walked away.

He ran into this same Koorime girl from time to time over the years. Now that he was older, he was recruited into warlord Raizen's personal army, and was asked out on many assassination missions. Most of the ones he killed were of some connection to Yomi and Mukuro, Raizen's rivals.

It was in autumn that Kuyo was instructed to assassinate a crooked Koorime. The girl had worked as Raizen's spy, informing him of any progression on the island. Raizen had gotten word that said maiden had defied him in someway. It mattered not what the reason was, but one thing Kuyo learned in his draft was to never defy your master. After this assignment there would be no more Koorime. Due to the fact that the spy was a Koorime, a person she could have told must have been another. All were to be eliminated if that be the case.

When Kuyo first reached the Koorime island, he cursed inwardly at the cold. As any fire demon, Kuyo would have to finish this fast; he did not want to die by ways of hypothermia.

He reached the traitorous Koorime's hut soon after arriving. Kuyo needn't bother informing anyone why he was there. With a look of ever jadedness, Kuyo launched a beam of energy from his palm and through the ice maiden's crystallized window. Substantial amounts of snow melted before impact, and the screams were enough for Kuyo to know that the ice maiden was indeed deceased.

More Koorime appeared on the scene, most to understand the sounds. They stood frozen in place (haha- no pun intended) at the sight before. Kuyo knew immediately that he should do his master's wishes. Without moment's hesitation, Kuyo swung his fully developed arm at the Koorime, claws lashing out.

Within minutes, over half of the spectators had been slaughtered. Kuyo's body began to ache from the cold, but he knew he had to finish what he had come to do. His claws and clothes smelt horribly of youkai blood, but the feeling it sent through his veins made it worthwhile.

Kuyo took a step forward, edging his way over to the last handful of Koorime in the area. He paused as his breath caught in his chest, and his eyes showed that all but two of the remaining Koorime had taken this time to escape Kuyo has fast as they could. One of the two Koorime, Kuyo recognized as the one he had met eight years prior.

She ran up to him, eyes drawn in concern. Again, Kuyo raised his arm to strike her down, but instead, he began to realize the extent of the harsh climate of the frosty island. It became harder for him to breathe and his body ached with every movement. Before Kuyo was able to take another breath, his world became shrouded in darkness.

- - -

"Who are you?"

"I'm Hina...the Koorime you met a few years prior."

Kuyo put his hands to his head, rubbing his temple. He had no recollection of making to wherever he was now. He remembered going to the Koorime island to murder that traitorous one, but then how did he get inside this warm little cottage?

"I...I remember you. But how did I get here?"

"Well...I brought you back here. You were practically frozen. I couldn't let you die out there," Hina added, smiling sweetly.

- - -

And that's how Kuyo remembered it. Eventually, he and Hina had fallen in love...their love ended with twin children- Hiei and Yukina. Directly after their birth, Kuyo fled as far away from Hina as possible. He'd then heard that his son had been thrown off a cliff and had died at the foot of the mountain.

Now was the time to exact his revenge. It wasn't quite revenge he was seeking...he merely just wanted to use his own son as a pawn to kill anyone who had defied him. Ningenkai were among those people.

But that's a story for another chapter....

- - -

A/N: Jesus, someone shoot me now! I'm done, I'm finally done! Woo! Aww, well, I'm not done just yet; I have two more chapters to write...and then I'll be done! I cannot wait to just finish this horrible piece of work. And when I do, I'll be free to write in old fics, without having to worry about deadlines.

This chapter is in dedication to RevReb (like your new nickname?). She's been asking me to finish this like you wouldn't believe, and I know this chapter isn't much, but here you go, Katie!

Next chapter(s) there will be an additional character added to this strange and twisted plot....Isn't that right, Vaoh? :)


	11. Growing Pains

Torn Apart

**A/N** _Okay, I lied. This is not gonna be an alternate ending fic. I wanted to, I really did, but with school and all, I just won't have much time for this fic; and I have a bunch of new ones lined up anyway._

_- - -_

As night fell upon the Makai, the tensed feeling Hiei had been experiencing since morning begun to swell rapidly. Raizen and Kuyo had devised a plan in order to kill off Yusuke and his team. What they hadn't told Hiei was that he was also on the list to be killed.

"Assassinate them and leave no evidence behind," that's what they told him. The only evidence of their demise would be Hiei's living, breathing body.

"It's beginning to rain," Hiei said bluntly.

Raizen smirked, rubbing his clawed hands together. He seemed to be enjoying this a little too much. "Great. The water falling onto the hot rocks of my territory will create thick smog that will give you some cover."

"Cover from what?" Hiei asked quietly.

"Cover from Yusuke, of course," Kuyo said. "Think like a ninja, Hiei. Make their deaths inaudible and quick."

"I'd prefer not having to kill them at all. How will this all benefit me?"

"Hiei, Hiei; surely we can't be talking about the same people. Yusuke's been nothing but a nuisance to you since the very beginning, you've said so yourself," Raizen explained. "Why, if it weren't for my troublesome son, you'd be seeing out of _both_ your eyes."

Raizen knew he had struck a nerve. He watched almost amusedly as Hiei fingered the small scar around his blinded eye. Hiei looked somewhat frustrated that he couldn't see his own hand when it was two centimeters from his iris. The youkai removed his hand, and stared at Raizen coldheartedly; he was more looking through Raizen than at him.

"Fear not, young one. Soon, Yusuke and his friends will no longer be a burden to you...."

- - -

"Yusuke, don't you think it's about time we continued to look for Hiei? Though he didn't say it directly, I know he was planning on coming to the Makai to aid us in this mission."

"I'd like to believe you, Kurama, but I truthfully want nothing more to do with him.... It's not like we need him here anyway," Yusuke said, looking at the unconscious form of the youkai they had been sent to take care of.

"I mean, think about it. The guy's practically locked up in the temple all day, and he never bothers to help us take care of these guys. So to me, Hiei's no longer our friend."

"How can you say that, Urameshi? Sure, Hiei can be an ass sometimes, but you can't just go back on a friendship; at least not like that."

"That's something coming from you, Kuwabara. And I know you'll agree with me when I say that this all started _because_ of Hiei. He was the one being an ass; he was the one who got himself injured, and then blamed me because of it; and let's not forget that he's also the who's been made Raizen's puppet. He killed so many people!"

Kurama sighed, sitting himself on a tall boulder. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the ground. He knew the tension between them was fierce, but he couldn't allow Yusuke to go about it wrongly.

"But Raizen was making Hiei kill all those humans..., and you know that Yusuke." Kurama now seemed to be staring daggers at Yusuke; he looked like the fearsome Youko.

"Look, can we not talk about Hiei for two seconds? I'm gettin' soaked here!"

Yep, that was Kuwabara. He too could feel the tension in the air, and making a comment such as he had, would temporarily end their discussion. And it did. It seemed, by the look on Yusuke's face, that he was eternally grateful for Kuwabara's interjection.

Kurama gave a smile; he knew what Kuwabara had done (whether the ningen knew it or not). He was just thankful for the interruption.

- - -

"What did you do to me?"

"Now, now. I was sitting here watching you sleep. You wouldn't want to be tired when your friends came over, now would you?

"And where's Kuyo?"

"Your father left some time ago, Hiei. You know how sluggish a change in weather can make you."

Raizen was right- the reason Hiei had fallen asleep was because the heavy downpour of rain had made him feel very listless; as was the fate of fire demons. Hiei felt embarrassed because he had fallen asleep in Raizen's presence, but that was merely the least of his worries. He had asked Raizen what he had done because he now had a throbbing headache. It was unusual for him to feel such pain, especially since he thought he was becoming immune to Raizen's mind tricks.

"What's wrong with you?" Raizen asked bitterly.

Hiei turned to him, his face now contorted with pain. He let out a small whimper, and felt himself begin to sway. Through squinted eyes, he could see Raizen watching him fearfully, and then turned his head in the opposite direction. Raizen had undoubtedly seen or heard something, but all that Hiei was hearing was the deep drumming ringing in his head.

"Hiei!

The sound echoed in head, an unfamiliar voice.

- - -

"Where are you going? Raizen's fortress's this way!"

"I know that."

"Then what--?"

"I need to stop by an old friend's"

Yusuke frowned. What was Kurama up to this time? It was he who convinced Yusuke to aid in Hiei's rescue, and now he was going to meet an old friend? As they continued to run, Kurama turned to see Yusuke and Kuwabara staring at him. He smiled and ushered them into what appeared to be a thick field.

"Here it is," Kurama said after a while.

They stood in the center of a small village. The village looked old and run-down. Most of the huts were mostly burned, or filled with drafty holes.

"What is this place?" Yusuke asked, looking around the village.

"This is where I grew up as a child.... As a kitsune cub," Kurama corrected. "It sure has changed since I left."

"What did you expect after the war? After you left, I had to rebuild the village alone."

Kurama turned around to face a young kitsune (about half his age) with black, shoulder-length hair, and lovely cobalt eyes. She held a giant scythe in her right hand. The she-fox leaned her weapon against a nearby village hut, crossed her now-free arms, and casually walked up to Kurama and his companions.

"It's been a while, Kurama," she smirked.

Kurama stared, bewildered, at the kitsune in front of him. "Yukita-chan?"

"I told you, it's Seika. Just Seika." The girl unfolded her arms. "I never cared much for formalities, Kurama."

"Why do you look so surprised to see her, Kurama? This is the friend you came looking for isn't it?" Kuwabara looked from fox to fox, as if trying to find something hidden.

Seika's black ears perked up. "What, you came looking for me, Kurama?" Her innocent face then hardened into a deep scowl. "What for? You said yourself that you would never need me for anything. Why should this time be any different?"

There was an awkward silence that followed, which was broken by Kurama's deafening laughter. Seika's ears flattened against her head, as she found nothing less funny. Kurama covered his mouth with a hand to try to be polite, but he was finding it difficult to stifle his laughter.

After a few moments, he said, "I'm sorry, Yukita-chan. I've been under a lot of stress these past few months...it just felt good to hear your good humor again."

"But I wasn't—"

"Now listen, it would mean the world to me if you could help me with a favor. My good friend Hiei has been taken prisoner by Raizen," Seika's eyes widened, "and we could really use your stealth skills to infiltrate the castle."

Without a moment's hesitation, Seika answered, "Of course, Kurama. I'll do anything to hurt that bastard Raizen." Aside, Yusuke winced. "I'll have to call Haku."

Uhh—excuse me, who's Haku?" Kurama asked.

"My husband!"

- - -

"So, that Seika girl, she's a friend of yours?"

"That's right; we grew up together. She was a lot younger when we met....I'm more than twice her age," Kurama smiled.

Kuwabara frowned, "How's that? She looked only 16."

"You're forgetting that I was reborn as a human. I'm about 15 years younger than I should be."

"And what about in demon years? Surely you're older than 32?" Yusuke asked.

"Kitsunes don't think too much in demonic years. We like to deal with ningen years, because their small and make us feel younger." Seika smiled as she entered the hut. With her, she brought a husky fellow, with long white hair, the strangest purple eyes with tints of green, and tall, pointed ears like a water imp.

"I'm guessing you're Haku?" Kurama asked, politely.

"You'd be right," Haku said gruffly. "So, you've gotta be Kurama?"

"That's right," Kurama said, standing up to shake hands. "I'm sorry, I can't keep this to myself any longer: Yukita-chan, when on earth did you get married?"

Seika smiled reminiscently. "Right after we were attacked, and you left, I ran into a group of dirty bandits. They saw great potential in me"—she smirked, blusteringly—"from when you used to train me. They then promised to train me, as long as I married Yomiko's son (he's the bandit leader) when I was of age. The night I turned 105, Haku and I wed."

"So, it's been that long then?" Kurama said, looking down.

"Okay, I know you guys are having a great time reminiscing and all, but shouldn't we be worried about the matter at hand? We need a battle strategy!"

"Oh, that's a good one coming from you, Kuwabara," Yusuke said, grinning.

"But he is right; I'm sorry."

Kurama sat down again, leaning himself against a wall of the hut. They needed to decide on a plan, a way to rescue Hiei from Raizen without getting into any trouble along the way.

- - -

He was lying on cold, hard stone; that much he could tell. His head throbbed worse than ever, and his body felt as though he had beaten himself up 100 times. Hiei opened his eyes, and groggily tried to sit up.

It was then, that he realized that he was tied down by many wires connected to machines. He recognized one to be an oxygen tank. He shuddered; the thought made him sick to think that he had been hooked up to so many contraptions. He tensed as he heard footsteps nearing the big, metal door beside him. It slid open.

In walked a panic-stricken Kuyo; he was sweating a lot, and it made his black, shaggy hair stick to his face and neck. He was panting a great deal too. In all, he looked worse than Hiei felt.

When he walked in and noticed Hiei sitting up, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh, you're alive. I was...worried."

Hiei scowled, "Bull, you weren't worried a bit."

At this, Kuyo smirked. "You truly are your father's son," he said proudly.

Hiei did not agree with his statement, but he was much too tired to put up a front. Instead, he decided to change the subject.

"Damn, you look like shit," he said malevolently. "Maybe you really were worried about my well-being."

"Heh, don't flatter yourself, kid."

"Whatever." Hiei tried to sneer, but winced, and decided to ask what was on his mind. "D'you mind telling me why I'm hooked up to all these machines?"

Kuyo let out a few chuckles, before regaining his cool. "You had an allergic reaction to Lord Raizen's telepathy."

- - -

**A/N** _Can you believe it's been six months since the last time I updated this blasted catastrophe? Well, six months and three days, but who's counting?_

_Anyway, as you noticed, a new character has been added to the already long list of characters for this fic. Okay, I lied...two characters were added. These lovely people were thought up by my adoring fan, Lady Vaoh. She rocks. Her characters were so much fun to make. She simply just gave me a synopsis of A LOT of her characters, and I made them my own; I gave them a personality. How fun!_

_Y'know, I really need to make up my mind about what to do with this story. I keep saying the last chapter is coming, yet...it never does. It just goes on, and on, and on, etc. But someday, the final chapter will arrive, and I will be sad when that happens._

_Okay, I'm boring you, so go on, and leave the poor author alone to live in her shoe. Peace out, you guys! Happy insert holiday choice here!!_


	12. Torn Apart

Torn Apartby: Sakura

A/N Can you believe that this is actually going better than I thought it would? Yeah, I've already started the final chapter (though I have no idea when it will take place), and of course, I'm nowhere _near_ finished, but it's five pages long and only two things have happened so far. Isn't that great?

The last chapter's gonna be a killer, I know it. I really hope you all will like it as much I do, but unfortunately for you guys, you'll have to wait until I finish this chapter (and maybe a few others). Okay, well, I think this is a long enough author's note, so I'm going to stop and actually write the chapter. Ciao!

- -

"How could I have had an allergic reaction?" Hiei asked, trying to pull his arm away from the nearest machine.

"Your body just wasn't used to it, and so the strain could have caused you to have some sort of reaction."

"Raizen and I have been connected for months now. Surely, he still can't put that big of a strain on my body."

Kuyo thought about this for a moment, and then continued picking dirt from under his long fingernails. His hair was still wet and sticking to his neck, but from what Hiei could tell, he was no longer worried, not that he was sure that his father was worried to begin with.

Hiei waved his arms animatedly, trying to free himself from the many wires. After a few tries, he gave up.

"Free me," he said oddly.

Kuyo looked up, "Excuse me?"

"Unhook me from these things! I need to have a word with Raizen."

"Of course," Kuyo smirked. He raised his arm majestically; a small flame emitted from his fingertip where it was sent out, cutting the ties Hiei had to the machines.

Hiei shivered. It was then that he realized that he had been de-cloaked and booted. He jumped off the cold metal table, slipped on his boots, and grabbed his cloak on his way out of the room.

He stopped dead upon entering the hallway. Raizen had obviously placed him in some medical chamber and now he didn't know where to go. This new place was dark and gloomy, and it smelled horribly of alcohol.

At the end of the hallway, he came to another door. It appeared to be the only way out, but Hiei had no way of knowing where exactly it led. Reaching for the knob, he realized that it was a demon. With a hint of curiosity, he poked at it, just to see what it would do.

It stared at him with dark yellow eyes, and then it sneezed. Not expecting this, Hiei jumped back in surprise. Seeing the look on his face, the doorknob smirked, turning its head slowly to allow the Jaganshi entrance. Ignoring the sniggers from it, Hiei pressed on, leaving the door to close behind him.

That door, he was sure, had led him to the main entranceway, where he had first met his father. Raizen was sure to be here; he had many a time discussed plans with Hiei here as well.

Even from here, Hiei could tell there was a storm brewing outside. And it wasn't just a thick rain cloud. No, he was sure this dark feeling within him was foretelling his biggest battle to come (damn, I feel like a promo).

"Come out, Raizen," Hiei said to the dark, empty-looking room.

Of course and as if on cue, Raizen stepped out of the shadows behind his throne that would have been. He was just as rugged-looking—if not more—than Kuyo had been when Hiei had awoken.

"Talk to me," Hiei said, sitting on the remnants of a large boulder.

"It isn't over."

"What?"

"Your allergy; it's only just begun."

Raizen smirked, running a clawed hand through his tousled hair. He leaned himself against the wall, brushing his hair back some more. He let out a howl of laughter, while lightning cracked in the distance.

- -

Yusuke stopped, a cold shiver running down his spine.

"There it is," Seika said, pointing over the clumps of rocks used as their temporary hiding place.

The castle looked nothing of what it had when Yusuke first encountered his father; there was no more obvious-looking throne room to the right of it. Instead, it seemed more medieval. There was actually a sort of airiness to it, but only from the outside.

"It sure looks different than when I last saw it," he said.

"It's strange that he would change the entire exterior of this place after just two years," Kurama agreed.

"A lot of wars have been going on," Seika responded. "There hasn't been a week where some gang hasn't tried to demolish this place."

Yusuke frowned. His father had been a terrible man upon their first encounter, but he had obviously worsened during his heir's absence from the Makai; everyone seemed to hate him now.

- -

His stomach churned and his muscles tightened with the strain inflicted upon him. Bones popped as he leaned back from agony; his head was fit to burst. After a few moments, the pain ceased. Hiei fell on all fours, vomiting all over himself.

"That's disgusting," Raizen said, looking away.

"No s-shit," Hiei replied, coughing as the last of his previous meal rose up his esophagus.

"Well, don't just sit there, Hiei. Clean it up," Raizen said mockingly.

Hiei leaned back to sit on his rump. "I can't, I'm sick."

"I told you that your allergy wasn't over yet," Raizen sighed. "But don't fret, little one. Give it a few more hours and you'll be fine."

Hiei stood up, and then sat back down on his boulder. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a loose piece of white cloth, his headband. He stared at it, remembering everything that had happened within the last few months; he then tied it around his exposed Jagan eye.

"Yusuke will be here soon," he said.

"Where is he now?" Raizen asked, watching the dim glow under Hiei's bandana.

"Just below the castle."

"Excellent..."

- -

"Does anyone have any idea how we're going to get up there?" Kuwabara asked.

"That's easy," Seika began. "When I married Haku, he and Yomiko taught me a lot of their techniques. Anything they as bandits can do, I can do too."

"So, you know martial arts from me and you know how to be a bandit too?" Kurama said crossly.

Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped walking and watched the two kitsunes. Kurama had just sounded like he was jealous.

"Yeah," Seika said, matching his tone. "It was the only way for me to live—marry Yomiko's son and learn their ways and customs."

"You could have run. Your Grim Reaper would have been more than enough to take care of them."

"Quit being selfish, Kurama!"

Kurama said nothing, but began playing with the thorns from a nearby rosebush.

"I could have gone looking for you too, and I did. But when I got to your hut, your family was already dead and you had abandoned them...abandoned me! Do you know how hard that was for me? My family, your family, Tai...they were all gone! And then you ditched me!"

"Tai died? Hmph, that's no surprise; she was ever a very good combatant."

"How could you say that? Aside from you, Tai was my best friend!"

Kurama's cold stare softened immediately. It was almost as if he had been in some sort of trance.

"I was your best...friend?" he asked cautiously.

"Kurama, I loved you!" Seika cried, tears forming at the brims of her eyes.

Seika gasped, horrified. It was true that she had been in love with Kurama before she got married to Haku, but that was a secret she hadn't told anyone but Tai. She took a step back, hesitantly.

Kurama frowned. He was such an idiot. He had no idea what had made him jealous at Haku or made him snap at Seika. Now, he felt even worse, since Seika had admitted her feelings to him while he had been a jerk. Even though, he knew these emotions had expired, and that he had never felt that way about Seika before, that fact that he had made her cry really tore him up inside.

"Come here," he said.

Cautiously, Seika took a couple steps forward, planting herself in Kurama's arms as he embraced her tightly. This time, she let her tears fall freely. Though she had been rough as a child, she was still a girl and needed to vent her emotions sometimes. And so she cried and cried, just letting it all flow throw her. She was going to be fine—she no longer harbored these feelings for Kurama and she still had Haku.

"This is all very touching," Yusuke began. "But aren't we on a mission?"

- -

"And what mission is that? Do you plan on taking my puppet away from me?"

"What pup—? Of course we do!"

"Oh, but I don't think so, Yusuke," Raizen said. "You see, Hiei thinks differently of you now then he did before he joined me."

"How can he? I haven't done anything wrong!"

Hiei stood from his boulder. He removed his bandana, which revealed his Jagan eye.

"That's where you're wrong," he said smirking.

"You know, this just gets better and better. Well, friends, it's been lovely seeing you all again, but I think we ought to finish this fray at a later date," Raizen smirked.

"Running away, Raizen?" Kurama hissed, turning to Hiei.

Raizen looked surprised. "Enma, no! I just thought the four of you would like some time to think of a battle strategy and get a night's rest before you _defeat me_."

"Cockiness killed the demon," Kuwabara said under his breath.

"Why indeed it did," Raizen chuckled. "Hiei, do me a favor and show our enemies to their quarters."

Hiei nodded and led the other four out the door and through the alcohol-smelling corridor. This time though, he went through a door on the left side of the wall; another demon was there as a doorknob. No one bothered to speak to each other on the way there.

"This is ridiculous," Seika said after Hiei left them to their quarters. "That bastard Raizen's just toying with us."

Kurama sighed, "That's true, but now it looks like Hiei's been brainwashed to believe whatever Raizen says to be spot on. Not literally brainwashed, mind you."

"Maybe not literally," Kuwabara jumped in. "But did you see how he looked? He looked pale and kinda sickly."

"I noticed that too," Seika said.

"On our way down here, I managed to eavesdrop on a conversation between two of the guards outside the first door we went through," Kurama explained. "They mentioned something about Hiei having an allergic reaction to Raizen's telekinesis."

"Do know anything about this?" Seika asked Yusuke.

Yusuke turned and sat down on one of the five beds in the room, staring down at the floor.

"I can't take this anymore," he said. "Raizen is taking everything away from me. He took me away from my mom and now he's taken my friend. Next, he'll probably take my life."

"Don't say that!" Kuwabara yelled. "Where's the Urameshi who had a cocky attitude and used to beat me up all the time?"

"He's gone; he's given up all hope."

"You can't just want to sit here and die," Kurama said dejectedly.

"You don't understand what it's like!" Yusuke said, jumping up. "You've never been torn apart from your family and friends like this."

"I understand perfectly," Kurama replied calmly. "I was forced to leave Seika and my village behind, forced to be reborn as a human. And I allowed Hiei to be taken away from Raizen. But now, I'm being forced to get you to understand that you're not alone in this, Yusuke."

- -

A/N Nice place for me to end it, huh? No seriously, because it was starting to get boring and I didn't want you to lose interest. But now, you'll be all pumped and ready for the next update that will come in the millennium, if you're lucky.

Okay, before everyone jumps the gun, I don't know why I added that fight in between Seika and Kurama. It was really there to fill some space. So, don't start complain' to me that Kurama's a snotty little punk, because he's not. And don't ask why Yusuke was acting like a baby at the end either, because I can't tell you that either; I just needed an excuse to put "torn apart" in there.

Back to work: I've finally decided where to place the last and final chapter, but unfortunately, it won't be next. See, my goal was to make it to at least 15 chapters, but I've decided to cut it back to only 14; muses and ideas are limited these days.

Chapter 13 will be the big battle chapter, but you'll have to bear with me because my battle-writing skills are kind of low. Also in that chapter, Kuyo will finally get a major part. Hiei might even chance sides...dun, dun, dun! Guess you'll just have to wait and see. ;)


	13. Their Reasons

Torn Apart

_FINALLY! AN UPDATE!_

_Oh, and though it might seem that way, there is NO shonen ai in this chapter, or even in this story. So, think nothing of the later scene between Kurama and Hiei._

- - -

It had almost been a week since the first time Yusuke and his team entered the castle. He'd waited patiently for Raizen to set the battle date, but it never came. Sometimes, he felt the need to ask his father himself, but those times he was always reminded by the others about what had happened to Hiei.

The fire demon had been seen in passings, but not once did either ever acknowledge it. They noticed that he always looked ragged and worn down too; they figured it was because of stress he might be feeling before having to fight with his friends.

"But he's no longer our friend," Yusuke would argue.

"That's not true," Kurama countered. "Hiei will always be our friend. Whether or not he knows it, is a different matter."

"Always the optimist," Seika said, smiling.

When Kurama threw her a look, the young kitsune turned away, masking her embarrassment with a surpressed giggle.

"Either way, we still have to beat Raizen's ass to get him out of Hiei's head. That's when he can decide whether or not he wants to be friends," Kuwabara said with gusto.

"And what about that allergy we heard those guards talking about?" Seika asked with a more serious tone. "I'm not sure how pale your friend normally is, but even still, he looks pretty bad."

No one said anything, not even the argumentive Yusuke, because they knew Seika was right. They weren't sure exactly what was wrong with Hiei, other than the allergy, but even then, they weren't positive what it meant for him: whether it was life-threatening or not. On numerous occasions, they sat around listening to Kurama as he tried explain the possible causes and effects for an allergy such as his, but the majority of the time, it ended with them arguing again.

"I wonder when we're gonna fight," Kuwabara said, breaking the ice after one such argument.

"Don't worry about. It'll happen sooner or later," Seika said.

There was a tensed silence in the room, before Yusuke spoke up, all the while keeping his eyes glued to the crack under the iron door that separated them from the rest of the castle. "More sooner than later."

The others followed his gaze, their breath catching when they saw the shadow of a figure, even with the dim lights. As the door opened revealing the person, Kurama watched as Kuwabara's shoulders tensed, Yusuke's fists clenched, and Seika took an eager step backwards.

Hiei stood there, looking at them, beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his face and bare chest, his breathing coming in small gasps. He was clearly in no shape to be walking around a castle of this size, and yet, here he was.

"Hiei...," Kurama started. He was determined to find out what the youkai wanted before any of the others had a chance to get their hands on him, namely Yusuke.

"Raizen says our fight will commence tomorrow at noon. You're to meet in the hall where you first entered, and from there you will be escorted to...the arena," Hiei finished with a smirk.

"Now you're delivering messages?" Yusuke said, bits of anger and curiousity mixed in his voice.

"Save your rage, Yusuke," Hiei said, noting the teen's bitter tone. "They say your skill's better when you're upset."

He said this mockingly, but you'd have to be a fool not to see the pain he was masking pitifully. During the time he'd been there, his breathing became more shallow and his weakness showed more. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to keep up the tough-guy charade, he gave them one final glance, then turned to leave, pushing the door closed behind him.

- - -

"_I'm pregnant."_

That's what she told him. And he left, right after that...never to return. What they had done had been forbidden, a taboo amongst their people. But love has been said to overcome any obstacle, so he returned, and they decided to give it another try. After all, they were going to be parents soon, and they, along with their child, would need each other in order to grow strong.

Then, one day, when he snuck in to see her, the unexpected happened. She told him another secret; well, it was almost two new findings. They were to be parents to not one, but _two_ demonlings. Twins. Two small half-Koorime, half-fire girls were growing inside of her, or so he thought.

_"No," she said to him one month before the babies were due to be born. "One of them, it's aura is stronger than the other, almost...warmer. I think it's a boy."_

He was in shock when he found out. When he was younger, he never dreamed of having a bastard child with a Koorime woman, let alone _two_ children, but now knowing that he was going to have a son as well; well, he was now beginning to feel somewhat excited.

_"Have you chosen a name for him?" he asked, eager to know what he should call his son once he was born._

_She smiled at him. "Yukina for the girl, and for the boy..."_

Before finding out that they were also having a son, each of them had been given the task of naming one of the two babes. Yukina had been the mother's choice. That she had decided before her knowledge of twins, since she had known her whole life that if she were to have a child, it would be a girl. The father had been the one to name the other one, and he had chosen Hinata, from the base of the mother's name, but with their child's sex change, the need to find another name was now upon them.

_"I like Hiei," she said aloud. "It's a good, strong name."_

_"And he'll live up to it, I'm sure," the father answered._

But not until recently had he known whether or not his son had lived up to the name given to him. For you see, when he returned to the ice village a month later, he was viciously thrown out by the Koorime women and told that his lover was dead, while one child was safe, and the other had been released as an outcast and been left somewhere to die.

And he'd meant to look for his son, because he knew that if he was anything like his late mother thought he would be, then there was absolutely no way he could have died. At least, not like that. But, he had gotten side-tracked somewhere down the road; he had become somewhat for a fire demon king, and he didn't wish to smear his reputation by admitting that he'd had a son with a women out of his own element.

But somehow, his parental instincts may have gotten the better of him, because he did go out to look for his son. It took him about a hundred years, but in the end he was able to find his son; he was currently being raised by a gang of thieves, so when he was sure he had found him (he was able to guess his appearence by the rumors he'd heard), he killed the ones that had raised him until now.

At first, his son was somewhat shy towards him, and he was able to understand that. His son was young, and before now, he'd not known anyone other than the ones that had raised him. So, he tried communication. For him, it felt almost alien; when he knew he was going to be a father, he had prepared for this sort of thing, but then when he thought his son was dead, he had forgotten all about being a parent.

It had taken away, but eventually, the two were able to get along. He taught his son how to fight, and how to defend himself, and to do a number of other things that would one day benefit him. But a few hundred years later, his son went astray and he joined a gang with two other reletively young demons; together they worked on stealing some of King Enma's artifacts, but first they needed to hone their skills. During the time his son was gone, he'd heard more rumors about him going off to live with thieves, and this time he wasn't going after him.

The father met another demon too; his name was Raizen, and he promised to make his royal title an official one if he helped Raizen exteminate his own son. It wasn't until late that he found out the son he'd sworn to find--his son--was an accomplice with Raizen's. And when he and Hiei had met again, he was disappointed to find him in a pitiful state; he was barely able to stand on his own. Only when Raizen assured him that it was because of a telepathic reaction that caused Hiei to ail this way did he feel something other than shame.

Raizen told them both that the allergy would last about two weeks, and with each passing day, he began to feel uneasy in the presence of his son. While in The Land of Fire, he'd heard rumors of a young demon with ruby-red eyes, that could easily obliterate a number of things that stood in his way. He'd learned that this vertically challenged demon had the mystical and evil Jagan Eye implanted in order to aid him in a search to find his sister. He still hadn't gotten the connection.

And now, with his son's growing power, Kuyo began to think that he was afraid of him. He knew he could be ruthless and cunning, but could he possibly be as cold and blood-thirsty as the rumors pictured him?

So, what could he do about it? There was practically no place in the castle that Hiei didn't know about, and even if he managed to escape, he could easily be found with the Jagan. Just the thought of him being captured and tortured by his own son made him shudder. Sometimes he wondered how Hiei would have turned out if he had been raised by his father...

- - -

Kuyo yawned and scratched his head. The dream he'd just had had been more of a trip down memory lane rather than any other typical dream. It was somewhat unusual for him, but he dismissed it, as he began walking the corridors.

Raizen had told both him and Hiei that their fight would ensue shortly, and that Hiei would need to be the one to tell their enemies. So as he walked back towards the infirmary, where Raizen had them keeping a sharp eye on Hiei, he began wondering what his son had said exactly to his former friends.

"It isn't good to think like that."

He turned back, looking down the dark stretch of hallway, searching for the unexpected voice. At first he saw nothing, but a moment later, he saw a small, concentrated area with a dull green glow. It took him another moment to register that it was Hiei and the glow was from his Jagan Eye.

"I told them what I was supposed to, and what I think about is none of your concern."

"And you think reading my mind is fair?" Kuyo asked.

"You didn't say anything about fairness. I won't betray Raizen," Hiei said after a while.

"You don't sound too convincing."

"Hn."

That ended the discussion.

Kuyo watched his son as they continued to walk. He knew where _he_ was going, but before, Hiei had seemed to have no interest with this side of the castle. "Where are you going?"

"To sleep."

"Aren't your quarters that way?" Kuyo asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

Hiei didn't answer, but that was okay. Kuyo could tell his son felt ill again, and the infirmary was probably a more suitable place for him to rest. When they neared the room, he watched as Hiei turned and entered. They said nothing as they parted and Kuyo continued on his way.

- - -

That night, Kurama couldn't sleep. He'd been up with the others as they prepared for the battle in their own ways, but eventually they all drifted off to sleep, first with Seika, Yusuke, and then finally Kuwabara. Now alone, he laid his head on a pillow, and looked up at the ceiling.

He'd fought Hiei on more than three occasions, and each time had been more challenging than the last, and now with Raizen's help...well, he just didn't want to think about the outcome. Already he'd stocked up on different kinds if seeds and plants that had been able to thwart Hiei in the past, along with new ones that he thought might be of further use.

After a half hour of position changes, he came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight unless he was able to clear his head. So, as quietly as he could, he climbed down from his bunk, stalked out of their room, and continued his trek down the stretch of hallway. It was dark save for the few torches sitting in metal sconces nailed to the wall, and he had no idea where he was headed.

At last, he reached a large wooden door. He didn't know where it led to, but he was willing to try anything. Silently, he reached for the knob, only to realize it wasn't a typical round-shape; it was almost lumpy. And it began to move.

"Git yer hands offa me!"

Kurama looked down at the knob in his hand. To his surprise, it stared back at him with big, yellow eyes. The thing seemed irritated, so the kitsune removed his hand.

"You're a door knob?" Kurama asked, trying to remember if there was such a demon.

"Of course not!" spat the demon. "I was a demon just like you until Raizen put a curse on me. Now I serve him by guarding this door."

"So then you _are_ a door knob," Kurama said, surpressing a smile. "At least you are now... Do you think it would be all right if I passed?"

"_I_ don't care," answered the demon. "But don't come cryin' to me when Raizen turns you into a door knob too."

"I think I can manage," Kurama said, scowling. The demon gave him one last look-over before turning itself counter-clockwise, opening the door that led down a foul-smelling hallway. "Thank you."

The new hallway smelt of insulin or alcohol or ningen cleaning bases; either way, it made his stomach sick. He continued down the pitch dark way until he was able to see a light in the distance. He didn't know what it was or where it led, but still not feeling the least bit tired, he kept going.

When he reached the light, he saw that it was coming from what he assumed was some sort of sickbay or infirmary. The room was small and kind of pathetic, but through large glass windows that allowed you to see in, Kurama could tell that Raizen must have done everything in his power to get such good ningen and demon medical equipment into a place such as this. There didn't seem to be anything there, but as he swept his eyes through the room one last time, he was able to descry a small body lying down inside. The body frame and style of hair made Kurama realize that it was Hiei. The small sanjiyan was lying on a metal gurney and was hooked up to machines on both sides of him.

Now feeling curious, Kurama quietly slipped in through the open door. He walked over to where Hiei slept and just stood there watching the rise and fall of his chest. Stretching out his arm, Kurama brushed the side of Hiei's face with the backside of his hand. When Hiei flinched, Kurama recoiled, feeling he had done something wrong. But Hiei continued to sleep. Kurama saw a chair in the corner of the room, so he retrieved it, seating himself beside the bed.

For hours it seemed he sat like this, occasionly checking the wall clock for the time. It was already early into the next day and he began to wonder if he had made a mistake into not going back to sleep. Now beginning to feel drowsy, he turned his back to the room, and began to walk away.

"Kurama."

He paused, turning towards the voice. Hiei was now awake, and had his head in a position to see the leaving fox. Kurama smiled weakly at his ex-partner in crime and greeted him with a "Good morning."

"You were here all night, weren't you?" Hiei asked, sitting up and dangling his legs off the side of the gurney.

"How do you know?"

"I can tell."

"Isn't there another demon here?"

"There are a lot of other demons," Hiei said bluntly.

"You know what I mean. Any others I should possibly be worried about?"

"My father..."

"Well, there's absolutely nothing I can say to that," Kurama said, covering his mouth as he yawned. "But I can wish you good luck today."

Hiei jumped off the side of the bed, a scowl on his face. He stared at his boots, unable to say anything back to him. Finally, he said, "Don't say that to someone who plans to kill you." His Jagan was glowing red.

- - -

That morning, Yusuke woke up in an extremely foul mood. When two of Raizen's guards had come by to deliver breakfast, he had all but kindly taken the food from them, tipping them with an array of colorful names. He was also none too pleased to find out that Kurama, who was usually the first to be awake, was now sleeping soundly and showed no signs of waking up within the next three hours. He didn't want to wake his friend, because he knew they would need all their energy for the fight later that day, but he just felt angry with everything right now. So, instead of doing what he knew was right, he picked up the pillow from his own bunk, and whacked the kitsune across the head with it.

"Yusuke!" cried Seika, who was also awake. "What are you doing?"

Yusuke ignored him, but watched as Kurama slowly opened his eyes. "Is there a problem?" he asked sleepily.

"Like hell there is. It's about time you get your lazy ass out of bed!"

"Calm down, Urameshi," Kuwabara scolded. "What's wrong with you this morning?"

"I'm sorry," Kurama said to the other teen. "I...took a long walk last night."

Yusuke sighed. "No, I'm sorry... Damn it, I guess I'm just screwed up because of this thing."

"We all are," Kurama corrected him, sitting up. There were circles under his eyes that showed his lack of sleep. "What time is it?"

"About half past eleven."

"You're kidding?"

But Kurama's question was never answered, because right after the words were out of his mouth, there came a knock at the door. Kuwabara, who was closest to the door, stepped over to open it. Four heavy-set demon guards walked into the room. Each one stood in front of Yusuke and the other three.

"Hands," commanded the one in front of Seika.

Unexepecting and unaware of any of Raizen's trickery, they all held out their hands to the guards. In one swift movement, each guard reached behind them for a set of binding ropes, and proceeded with tying together the pair of hands in front of them.

"What's this about?" Kuwabara asked, struggling against his captor.

"For your and our safety alike," said the head guard.

Together, the guards led Yusuke and his friends out of the room, down the hall, and throughout the castle. When they reached the main entry, Yusuke began to wonder whether Hiei had known about this all along when he told them to meet here. He scowled, as he watched the guards lead him through another set of doors, and on into a dark chamber.

The place was dark and smelly, and Yusuke could have sworn he saw a skull where they had just passed. He watched as his guard reached over, grabbing a torch from a sconce above him. He continued to lead them through doors and around corners, until finally, he stopped in a clearing.

This room was huge; if he had to guess, Yusuke estimated that it took up about a fourth of the castle. It was lined with thick gray stones, and the ground was covered with dirt soft enough to be sand. Yusuke felt as his captor released his grip on the binds, and his eyes followed him as he began to walk away, torch in hand. He had a feeling he was lighting the other torches with his own, because with each passing minute, the room began to grow substantially brigher. Before the guard finished his torch-lighting, Yusuke was able to make out, and then clearly see the forms of his father, Hiei, and some other demon. The third demon he didn't recognize, but there was something about him that was familiar.

"Thank you, Ban'nin," Raizen said to Kuwabara's guard. "You may go now."

The four guards bowed to Raizen, untied the binds on their captees, bowed again, and left.

"Now," Raizen began again. "I don't really care for the typical threats exchange before a fight, so we'll just get this thing started. All right with _you_, son?"

Yusuke, still with a temper from this morning, said nothing, but could tell that his father knew that his silence meant that he agreed.

"Good; I'll use my trump card. Hiei?"

"No."

Everyone, not just Raizen, turned their attention to the small fire demon. He said nothing more and refused to look at Raizen. The Warlord, on the other hand, looked stricken with the words spoken from his slave's mouth.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"No." Hiei turned his head upward, towards Raizen. "I'm refusing to be your pawn anymore."

What Hiei was doing was incridible, if not completely moronic, but Yusuke continued to watch the two in awe. And what Raizen did next engraved itself into Yusuke's memory, and he thought it was probably the worst thing he ever witnessed.

"I don't think so, little one," Raizen said, beginning to laugh manically. "I don't think so..."

Next, Hiei's Jagan began to glow a brilliant red and in a second he was on his knees, screaming with pain. Hiei grabbed at the soft dirt, trying desperately to make himself think of anything but the feeling he felt inside of him.

Yusuke and the others could only watch in horror, and as Hiei writhed in agony, only then did Yusuke began to feel like this was his fault. Images of a giant squid kept popping up in his head, along with pictures of Raizen. The thoughts were too much for him, and for the first time in years...he actually felt like crying.

- - -

_Guys and gals, can you believe it? I've actually done it; I've finally made it to the last chapter (next). You can't believe how happy this make me feel!_

_I made this chapter extra long to make up for all the months you've had to wait for an update. And now that I've finally finished this chapter, I almost feel like writing in the last chapter. But uhh...don't get your hopes up. _


	14. Forever a Prisoner

Torn Apart

_Did you know that this chapter had actually been finished for quite some time, but I was in the current state of writing chapter 13, so I was waiting until I posted that? So, here I was, all excited about having finished the final chapter when...my computer crashed!! And you know what that means, don't you? I had to say "bye-bye" to ch. 14 and the incomplete ch.13. I'm still trying to get over the fact that every master copy of every fic I'd written since I was 11 was lost, but that's okay (I still have them posted here or at that said, I'm going to try to rewrite this chapter as close as I can to the original, but I make no promises. Of course, none of you will know the difference, but I will, and that's what's important...to me. As another warning, there will probably be a lot of shifts in this chapter. It will forever remain in third-person limited, but the focus on a specific character will change from Yusuke to Hiei, and maybe some others. Also, this chapter's a doozey. It's 22 pages long, so find time to read the whole thing in its entirety._

_One more thing: the beginning of this chapter can be a bit brutal. All those with a weak constitution are advised to skip the beginning of the big battle and jump to the next section that starts with Raizen saying "See, he's fine..." Honestly, I, as the author, only think there is one bad part (includes mild self-maiming), but maybe I'm just being biased. You have been WARNED._

_So, without further ado, here's the final chapter of "Torn Apart". _

- - -

Hiei turned his head upward, towards Raizen. "I won't be your pawn anymore."

"That's what you think," Raizen said, beginning to laugh manically.

What Raizen did next engraved itself into Yusuke's memory, and he thought it was probably the worst thing he ever witnessed. Hiei's Jagan began to glow a brilliant red and in a second he was on his knees, screaming with pain.

"STOP IT!" Yusuke shouted, stepping foward.

Raizen turned his attention to his son, releasing his control on Hiei. Yusuke watched as Hiei lay motionless in the dirt; his eyes wide, but completely lifeless.

"Taking pity on him?" Raizen asked, smirking.

"I...no... What you're doing to him is wrong."

"What are you talking about? He can't feel a thing!"

That being said, Raizen turned his attention back to the motionless Hiei, and watched as the little demon's Jagan began to glow a vibrant red. Within seconds Hiei was back on his knees, groping his head with all his might. He was huddled over again, holding his head like it was fit to burst.

Yusuke watched the sanjiyan in his struggle. He didn't know what else he could do to help him.

"Hiei, what are you doing?"

It was Kurama who had spoken from behind, and he sounded frantic.

Yusuke turned to witness a horrible sight. Hiei was clawing at his forehead, as if he were trying to removed the Jagan Eye. Bloody scratch marks began to appear near the Jagan as Hiei tore at his flesh with his nails.

"Are you going to stop this?" Yusuke asked, sounding unusually calm despite being the total opposite.

Raizen turned to Hiei and shrugged. "He's being punished for being disobedient."

Meanwhile, Hiei had managed to gather enough strength to drag himself over to the nearest wall, and was now attempting to free himself of Raizen by beating his head against the cold hard stone. The sensation he got was much more bearable than the throbbing pain in his skull. Somehow, the cool castle wall felt almost soothing.

"He's going to kill himself!" Kuwabara shouted to no one in particular. He feared interfering for both Hiei and Raizen were still strong enough to stop him on their own.

The red glow from Hiei's Jagan began to grow fainter and he let out one final howl of pain before collapsing against the castle wall. His breathing was coming in long drawn-out sighs and the blood from his head was beginning to run down the side of his face. He could both smell and taste his sweat and blood as they streamed down his cheeks.

"See, he's fine," Raizen said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Fine? You could have killed him!"

Yusuke directed his attention to the other demon standing beside his father. He was slightly taller than the warlord, with his black shaggy hair and narrow mahogany eyes. Somehow, Yusuke was reminded of Hiei.

"I thought you didn't care about his well-being. Didn't you just come to me so that I could make your royal title official?"

"Of course I...," the demon averted his eyes, fixating them on the ailing Hiei. He turned back to Raizen, his face fierce. "How can I not care for him? He's my son! Do you think I would spend a hundred years looking for a son I didn't even care about?"

Yusuke stood there, not quite sure what to make of this demon's statement. This was Hiei's father? He turned to Hiei to see what his reaction was; had he known this all along?

Hiei's reaction was not what Yusuke had expected. Hiei sat where he was, his eyes wide and staring at the ground. Yusuke watched as Hiei struggled to stand, leaning on the wall for support.

"You mean the only reason you're here is for a _title_?"

Again, Yusuke wasn't expecting that from Hiei. If Hiei already knew this was his father, then was this "title" thing the only reason he looked surprised?

"So all that nonsense you just produced about trying to find me for a hundred years was a lie? You say you care, and yet I believe I recall you distrusting me when it came to Yusuke."

"What?" Yusuke started. How had he gotten invovled in something between Hiei and this so-called father of his?

"It was my duty to tell you about your rendevous with Raizen. Kuyo here didn't trust me to tell you; I guess he figured I would so easily revert back to being _your friend_."

Yusuke's breath caught. Althought it was kind of vague, Hiei had just admitted to being his friend. And even though Yusuke had known of this before the squid mission, he had never even expected Hiei to ever voice that aloud to anyone. At least, not in those words.

He turned to see the other's reactions. Kurama looked over, shrugging slightly, and Kuwabara had a goofy grin on his face that said "I told you so!" When looking to see Seika's reaction, Yusuke found her still staring over in the direction of the family feud.

"But you were reading my mind!"

Obviously, something was still going on between father and son. The shaggy-haired demon was getting defensive now, and sounded a little like he was whining.

"That is hardly the issue!" Hiei shouted back at him. "Quit acting like a child. Tell me: were you not the one following me around the corridors to make sure that I told Yusuke what I had been instructed to by Raizen?"

The demon said nothing. For a while, he avoided Hiei's eyes. Then finally, he looked up and opened his mouth to speak...

"Enough!"

The explosion that followed Raizen's voice began with a blinding white light and concluded with thick black smoke. With the swirling dust and smoke, it was hard to see what had actually happened. As the smoke began to clear, there was the tiniest stench of burning flesh.

Yusuke looked around, unsure of what was happening. He was sure the shaggy-haired demon had been killed, there was no doubt about it. Through the smoke, there came a faint green glow. It was Hiei's Jagan; its normal glow, not the red glow of Raizen's telepathy.

"You killed him," Hiei said.

He didn't sound angry or even surprised. In fact, his voice held no emotion at all, just the same nonchalant sound as it always had.

"I did," Raizen said as the dust began to settle. "I was tired of this back and forth argument between you two. I'm not sure if you knew it, but I was keeping tabs on Kuyo. He had been acting strange lately, and I had a feeling it had something to do with you."

"Kuyo was his father's name?" Yusuke asked. For some reason, he wanted to avoid Hiei, so he felt it better to ask Raizen.

"Oh, didn't we tell you?" Raizen said coolly. "Now honestly Yusuke, I'm getting tired of waiting around. Are we going to settle this or not?"

Yusuke looked to Hiei. The Jaganshi was still using the wall for support, but seemed to be slouching more. His skin was paler too. When Hiei noticed he was being watched, he turned away.

"Of course," Yusuke said finally. Behind him, he could hear protests from his friends.

He continuned to watch Hiei, to see his Jagan's green glow change into that of red. He knew that Hiei was now being controlled, or at least, being sent some sort of telepathic message, but as Yusuke soon realized, the sanjiyan showed little to no effect. His breathing became heavier, but he wasn't on the ground screaming in agony. Raizen must have been taking it easy on him.

Yusuke had to think fast if he was to defend the rest of his team and Seika from Hiei, as the demon was inching ever closer to them, hellish black flames circling and then incasing his right arm.

The ningen teen stood there, almost as if he was paralyzed with fear; suddenly, a tangle of thorny vines shot out from behind him, piercing the right side of Hiei's chest. The small amount of black flames that he had managed to summon into his palm shot forth from the force of the vine's blow. Yusuke winced as the flames grazed his shoulder, shooting past him and hitting Kurama squarely in the gut.

Either out of anger or out of sheer impulsiveness, Kuwabara lunged forward, his Spirit Sword drawn. Hiei had little time to react, and not having his own sword with him, reached out, catching Kuwabara's attack between his hands. The intensity of Kuwabara's spirit energy left Hiei's hands smoking from the burns, but he wasn't about to back down yet.

"Just give up!" Kuwabara said through gritted teeth. "Is your pride more important than your life?"

Yusuke saw Hiei release his grip on Kuwabara's sword, his hands badly burned and giving off the same rotten smell as the pile of ashes that were once Kuyo's body. He seemed to be thinking about what Kuwabara had said; without turning his head, Hiei's eyes darted back and forth between Yusuke and Raizen.

As the red glow from Hiei's Jagan seemed to intensify, he shouted, "I can't do this anymore; I'm tired of it!"

That being said, he sprang towards Yusuke, both hands free of black flames. He meant to punch Yusuke squarely in the jaw, but when he landed, he did it awkwardly, causing him to stumble to the side. He stopped for a minute, light-headed from smashing his head against the castle stone earlier.

Seika took Hiei's sudden hesitation as an opportunity to wrap her vines around his right wrist in an attempt to stop him from attacking. At this point, Kurama too, wrapped his vines around Hiei's other wrist, stopping the then impaired demon from doing anything but struggle against his binds. Resisting only made the vine's thorns cut into Hiei's skin, so after a few minutes of vainful struggle, he finally gave up and let his arms hang limply at his sides.

"We don't want to fight you, Hiei," Kurama said. "You're only making this harder for us--"

"You say you don't want to fight me, but you've already succeeded in _stabbing_ me!" Hiei said, referring to the wound given to him by Kurama's vines. He couldn't help but laugh.

"You know, I think I'll just watch for now. There's no sense in me getting my hands dirty this early in the game..."

All eyes turned towards Raizen. He was situating himself on a large rock formation that had an uncanny resemblance to a sort of throne. He crossed his legs and hands, and sneered out at them. Infuriated by his father's arrogant demeanor, Yusuke launched himself forward, his right index finger outstretched in typical reigun fashion. Raizen didn't miss a beat as he sent a telapathic message straight into Hiei's brain, commanding him to do something.

Somehow, against his own will, Hiei was able to break out of Kurama's and Seika's vice grips, and throw himself in front of Yusuke's attack. Under no other circumstance, Yusuke wouldn't have minded hitting Hiei as well, but this particular rei blast was meant specifically for Raizen and held way too much force behind it. Hiei saw the strength behind the attack and braced himself for the impact.

But it never came.

Out of his peripheral, Hiei saw a swift motion behind him that could only have been Raizen, and then felt as he was tucked under the warlord's arm. There was then the sound and falling of rumble that suggested that Yusuke's blast had hit something that wasn't made of flesh and blood. Pieces of the castle flew in many directions, and Hiei even had to shut his eyes once as a large stone flew past his head.

Finally, he heard Raizen's feet touch a solid surface and he was then dumped to the ground. He turned to his left to see a gaping hole where he and Raizen had been mere seconds before. It was a miracle, but Raizen had saved him from the initial blow and then leaped out of the way to save himself. He saw Yusuke too, his arm still outstretched as in attacking, a dazed look on his face.

"You had better think the next time you try another move like that," Raizen said. "Don't forget that I can control him and you could end up hitting him by mistake."

It was clear that Raizen was angry. For what reason, Hiei wasn't quite sure, but he thought it might have to do with the fact that Raizen had been so close to losing his one and only trump card. Hiei knew that if he died, Yusuke and the others wouldn't even hesitate in attacking full force. Although he had already been wounded by Kurama, he knew that he would have been dead if the fox had aimed properly. And he had unintentionally hurt Kurama with a move that was meant for Yusuke.

"Who cares if I hurt him?"

Hiei snapped his head in Yusuke's direction. He knew the reason behind this whole skirmish, but did Yusuke really mean that?

"I mean, we're here to stop you and we'll do it by any means necessary," Yusuke said confidently. "If that means hurting or even _killing_ Hiei in the process, then so be it."

Glancing around at the others, Hiei noticed that they were all looking at the ground, a sign that they all agreed--even if unwillingly--that Yusuke was right. It surprised him, but this knowledge actually _hurt_ Hiei; he felt as though he had been betrayed, even if he was the one who had sided with Raizen.

Whatever, he said to himself. He deserved whatever he had coming to him.

Seika growled, and Hiei noticed. He watched as her small black ears lowered and pressed themselves flat against her head. She took the vine that was in her hand, the one used to stop Hiei, and snapped it like a whip. As she did, a great amount of thorns fell from the vine and flew towards Hiei and Raizen. For a short moment, Hiei was in awe of the female kitsune's power; this attack was like a storm of deadly thorns.

But the thorns never hit their mark. Hiei had a split second to react, but when he was done admiring Seika's attack, he saw the thorns were no more than a few feet from hitting Raizen, and closing in quickly. Seeing how fast they were moving, Hiei had very little time to gather enough fire in his hand to knock the thorns off course. When he had just the amount needed, he threw the fireball directly in front of Raizen, stopping the thorns and sending them to the ground in a pile of dust and embers.

"Thank you, Hiei...for doing that all on your own," Raizen said, looking to the ground where he had left Hiei.

Ignoring him, Hiei winced for his hand was stinging horribly. He had already forgotten about burning himself on Kuwabara's sword. Igniting fire in his hand didn't help. He shook his hand, hoping to make the pain go away, but the rush of the air around him only made it hurt worse.

He got up from the ground, standing beside Raizen. He knew conciously aiding Raizen was going to mean death on his part, but what else could he have done? Raizen would have controlled him and made him jump in front of those thorns--burning them of his own will was better than jumping in front of an attack that he knew nothing about.

Already, Hiei was tired, but he knew Raizen wouldn't allow that as an excuse. Hiei needed a way to end this fight quickly. He reached into his pants pocket and fumbled around until he pulled out his white bandana that he used to conceal his Jagan. He tore it in half and used the pieces to wrap both his injured hands.

Yusuke watched in horror as black flames began to encase Hiei's right arm. This flames were bigger than the attack he had used earlier, and from where Yusuke stood, he could feel the heat of the fire. He watched as Hiei grabbed a handful of the black flames and transferred them to his left arm. The fire slowly crept up to his elbow and settled. Hiei had never used both arms for the Kokuruyuha; already the move was powerfully destructive, so Yusuke could only imagine what would happen when Hiei used his other arm too.

Hiei was gritting his teeth in sheer pain as his hands throbbed painfully. When he had grabbed the flames from his right arm, that had almost been to much and he almost let the attack die there, but he knew he needed to finish this. When Hiei had first attempted the Kokuruyuha, his right arm had been severely damaged, and he planned the attack he was going to do now to be five times worse. He began to fear losing the use of both his arms.

Having used both his arms, it was only reasonable for the flames to be twice as big and twice as hot. Everyone watched as the flames seemed to devour Hiei, for within a few minutes, he was completely surrounded by the black fire. Raizen seemed to know what Hiei had planned for his son and couldn't help but sneer. So, Hiei had been a good candidate to try out his telepathy and make his own slave of a sort.

By the time Hiei had finished gathering the right amount of fire, Yusuke had all but given up hope. He knew that Hiei meant business and with an attack of this caliber, he didn't stand a chance. He turned back to Kurama who had a blank look on his face. It was pretty much unreadable, with an exception of his eyes, which told that he wasn't about to back down.

"This is it, Hiei," Raizen said, looking down at the little Jaganshi.

"Yeah," Hiei replied.

Now that Hiei had enough fire, the Kokuruyua dragon finally began to take shape. It laced itself around Hiei and roared. Hiei interperted this as his now or never chance. He braced himself, briefly thinking of the consequences of what he was about to do. He stepped forward to get a better shot and then pointed both his arms in Yusuke's, Kurama's, Kuwabara's, and Seika's direction.

The Kokuruyuha dragon took this as its signal to attack. It wove itself around Hiei's right arm, the one it was most familiar with, and glared menacingly out in front of it.

"Are there any last words from the doomed party?"

"I've got one..." Hiei said, still staring forward.

Raizen turned to him, intrigued. The black dragon stretched itself so that it's head and about a third of its huge body was no longer attached to Hiei's arm.

"Goodbye."

Hiei launched the attack. And there was one solitary scream.

Yusuke opened his eyes, he figured he was dead. The dust began to settle around him and he realized that he was lying on the ground surrounded by three other bodies. It was hard to see them through the cloud of dust, but he didn't need to. They were obviously the bodies of his deceased friends.

"He attacked him!" one of the bodies cried.

Yusuke blinked. He was glad he was actually dead, or the talking body of Kuwabara would have seemed weird. But since they were dead, it was fine to see talking spirits very now and then...although he was pretty sure the heap of flesh and clothes that was Kuwabara had been the one to speak. Dead bodies don't talk. Wait.

He didn't actually think any sound would come out, him being dead and all, but when he decided to chance it, Yusuke said, "What are you talking about?"

"Hiei attacked Raizen with the Kokuruyuha! We're not dead!"

Now Yusuke _knew_ he was dead. Only in Heaven would something so blissful happen, and his luck just wasn't that good. After all this time, Hiei wouldn't betray Raizen. Right?

"Oh no," Seika cried. "He's not dead!"

"Hiei!" Kurama shouted.

Yusuke frowned. Was there too much dust around _him_ or did his eyes just suck? He couldn't see anything the other three were seeing. As the dust began to clear, he could barely make out the forms of his father--standing tall, but leaning some like he was injured; and Hiei, standing a little more confident than Raizen. That is, until the hazy form of Raizen took his great muscular arm and shoved Hiei into the wall.

"We've got to help him!" Yusuke shouted, suddenly standing and surprising himself. He figured he wasn't dead after all, and if he was, this was some Hell.

He ran through the clearing dust, the others right on his heel. From here, he could see the damage that Hiei had caused on Raizen and the hurt Raizen had just caused to Hiei. Raizen was badly bleeding from a hole in his chest; it looked fatal, but Yusuke could never be sure with the warlord. Hiei, was sitting in front of the nearest wall, actually twitching and starting to cough up blood.

Quickly, Kurama and Seika took action by grabbing their vines and whipping them around Raizen's arms and legs. They weren't sure how long they would hold, but hopefully it was enough time for someone to do something.

The first thing Yusuke did was rush over to Hiei. He wanted to know why he did it, betrayed Raizen. He also wanted to see if he was all right. But Hiei shook his head and pointed towards Raizen, and Yusuke understood. Taking another glance at Hiei, he turned and walked over to the struggling Raizen.

"I still have control over him, you know," Raizen spat. "As long as I'm alive, he will still be my slave."

"I'll kill you."

Yusuke powered up his reigun and aimed for Raizen's heart. He was sure Hiei had mortally wounded him, but he wanted to make certain that Raizen never did anything like this again. He took one deep breath and shot.

As Raizen began to fall to the floor, a large explosion erupted from the other end of the room. It was Koenma and he raced in, followed by a countless amount of ogres dressed in combat outfits. If the situtation hadn't been so serious, Yusuke would have found it extremely hilarious.

"Koenma," Yusuke started. "He's not--"

"I know. We're going to take him back with us to the Reikai."

Raizen lied in the dirt, unconscious. His breathing with no where near steady, and Yusuke thanked his good aim, for while actually targeting the heart, he figured he could take out the left lung too. That way, Raizen would die one way or another.

Out of somewhere, Botan appeared behind the barrage of ogres and walked forward towards Yusuke and Koenma. She was unusually sullen today, and for good reason. Sure, Raizen was knocking on Death's door, but Hiei had been very badly injured. And who's side was he on?

As Botan grew closer, Hiei stood and did the same. He was a bit wobbly on his feet and only took a few steps forward. He looked at Yusuke and nodded, before shutting his eyes and running a shaky hand through his hair.

"If Raizen isn't dead within the next hour, he will be executed," Koenma continued in a hushed voice. "The ogres will put cuffs on him to block his spirit energy. Hiei should be free from the telepathy now. We'll talk about hispunishment later."

Yusuke's breath caught. "Punishment? For what--"

"Later."

Without another world, Koenma turned and left. His army of ogres with Raizen in toe. Botan looked at Yusuke and smiled meekly.

"I'll come back to take you all to Ningenkai," she said. "Have Hiei take you outside the castle and I'll meet you there." And then she dashed off after Koenma.

Hiei was just trying to concentrate on breathing. Everyone had begun to swarm around him, asking him questions and wondering whether he was okay, but he felt that if he stopped to answer them, he would surely pass out. His injuries were great, both mentally and physically. Everything that Raizen had put him through and all the stress that Yusuke was causing...not that he blamed the teen for being well, himself; it was just all a little too much for him.

"It's finally over, Hiei," Kurama said, patting him on the back as Hiei wiped the blood from his mouth.

Hiei said nothing, but gave a small smile, and then quickly cursed himself for losing his train of thought. He had already been feeling light-headed, but now the room was starting to spin. Trying to adjust his breathing pattern, he sat down and leaned forward on his knees, stretching out his arms so that he was in a sort of crawling position. He must have blacked out for a minute because the next thing he knew someone was grabbing his arm and trying to pull him to his feet.

"What are you doing?" he snarled, or at least tried to, but instead it came out more like an exasperated sigh.

"I thought you might want some help."

It was Yusuke and he had said it none too nicely. He dropped Hiei's arm, causing the youkai to stumble awkwardly. Kurama helped him catch his balance, and it was only when Hiei was standing that he noticed that Yusuke was blushing. He tried to hide it by turning away, but he had already been seen.

Hiei couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. Yusuke meant well, and Hiei could tell that he was truly sorry for everything that had happened to him, but it was obvious that he had a hard time expressing it. He let it go for now because just standing had left him feeling extremely dizzy.

"We should probably be leaving," said the young kitsune standing beside Kurama. "He said he would, but I don't really think I can trust a toddler to take care of things, and I don't want to be here if anything else happens."

She's right, Hiei thought. He didn't actually know this girl that had just suddenly shown up with Yusuke and the others, but supposedly, she was an old friend of Kurama's. Seika, was it? Hiei noted that during the battle, she had been a skilled fighter, using similar techniques to Kurama's. It was a shame he had never heard of her before, but then again, she looked too young to have been any real use to him.

Hiei led them in and around the castle, until they finally reached the outside. Just that trip alone had left him breathless, and already he could feel the soreness beginning to set in. Before leaving them after the battle, Botan had said she would meet them outside the castle in order to take them back to Ningenkai, but Hiei honestly didn't think he could wait until she arrived. Every breath he took, or attempted to, was agony and his small body felt so frail and useless. After another minute, he could no longer stand it and found himself what looked like a boulder--but was actually a remnant of the castle--to sit on.

"You probably shouldn't be sitting down," Kurama said, looking over at him. "You'll end up more sore that way."

"You can use me for a crutch, if you want...," Seika said, extending her hand.

Hiei felt that his pride would surely win over common sense; using a girl as a crutch was exactly the last thing he wanted to do right now, but in all honestly, Kurama was right, and Seika was the only one who could help him, being about the same height and all. Grimacing as he stood, Hiei allowed Seika to wrap her arm around him as he placed one of his over her shoulders. It did feel better on his body now that he wasn't supporting all of his weight on his own two feet, but it was still humiliating.

"Thank you," he said softly. As embarassing as it might be, Hiei couldn't forget the few manners he actually possessed. And he was truly grateful.

He still didn't know how long he was going to be able to stay conscious, but he was afraid that it couldn't be for much longer. He was mentally exhausted from the whole telepathy thing, but the injuries he had sustained during battle and then had inflicted upon himself, made him feel more physically drained.

"Hello, all!"

Botan was flying towards them on her oar, smiling and waving as though she hadn't known they would be there. It was only when Hiei had looked up at her, did he realize that he had been slipping from Seika's grasp; his knees were bent and he was beginning to slump forward.

"Glad you're here, but what took you?" Yusuke said, walking up to greet the ferry-girl.

Hiei noticed that while Yusuke continued to talk to her, he had dropped his voice level dramatically, making it impossible for anyone to hear but her. She listened as he spoke, making a chance glance over in Hiei's direction before nodding. He knew he was being talked about, and although it usually would have irritated him to some degree, this time, he didn't really mind. Maybe he was just too tired.

"Okay," Botan said finally. "Hiei, everyone, could you all come over--oh!"

The girl smiled, embarassed. It was obvious she had forgotten what Yusuke had just told her; everyone, Hiei in particular, was too injured to walk the short distance over to her. So instead, she and Yusuke casually walked over to them. Now, Botan had to concentrate on getting them all safely back to Ningenkai.

- - -

The very moment they had stepped inside Genkai's temple, Hiei had passed out from utter exhaustion. He had been taken into a room and was currently under the constant care of Yukina. She came back saying that his injuries were great, but that she had been able to heal the worst ones; she promised to stay with him until her care was no longer needed.

Everyone else had treated their wounds the old-fashioned way, with cleaning and dressing, and then proceeded with lounging about the temple doing nothing in particular. No one really wanted to talk about what they had been through the past few months, but they knew they would have to eventually. That time came up sooner than expected when Genkai mentioned something about Hiei's "internal injuries".

"You mean like, bleeding or something?" Kuwabara asked, quickly spreading concern around the room.

"No, nothing as serious as that, but still very important."

"What are you talking about?" Yusuke asked, sitting up.

"...His memories," Seika said. "Those are scars that will never heal."

There was silence for a while as everyone absorbed that information. Seika had a very good point. Although he would never admit it, Hiei's emotions had been really banged up; his telepathic dispute with Raizen had really weakened him. After all of this, Hiei might not even be the same demon he was when they had first met.

"Do you think he'll always carry those memories?" Kurama asked after a moment.

"Maybe," Genkai said. "But it's also possible that he could forget it all completely."

"I don't see how _anyone_ could ever forget something like that. It was hell," Yusuke said, scratching his head.

"That's exactly why Hiei would be better off forgetting. Remembering something that traumatic could really mess up a person."

"Well, whatever the case, I want to see for myself how this has affected him."

It was quiet after that. Everyone was too tired to talk about much else, but they continued to sit in and around the temple for a few hours, once picking up a game of cards. They occasionally tried to listen in on the conversations between Genkai and Yukina because they usually concerned Hiei and his current condition. Apparently, he had waken up once already, but it had only been long enough to wonder where he was; after he'd heard from Yukina that he was at Genkai's, he had passed out again.

Eventually, when it was already well into the middle of sunset, Seika announced her departure. She claimed to have already over-stayed her welcome, and being away from home was something she never liked experiencing.

"Thank you, Yusuke," she said. "I can accept that it wasn't me who defeated Raizen if I know that the person who did made sure that he can never hurt anyone again."

Once she was gone, Kuwabara left soon after, saying that his sister would kill him for having been gone so long without telling her. Kurama left with him, fearing that his mother would be worried since he hadn't called the entire week.

When everyone but Yusuke was finally gone, he got up and waited outside Hiei's closed room. He was about to knock, but before he got the chance, the door slid open, startling a tired-looking Yukina, who nearly dropped the tray she had been carrying out.

"Sorry," Yusuke said, picking up the damp cloth she had dropped. "What's this for?"

"Hiei's got a fever," she answered sadly. "Genkai says it's nothing, just a side effect from everything that's happened."

"Oh... Do you think I could go see him?"

"Of course. It's probably better for him to see someone other than me sometimes," Yukina laughed.

"Has he woken up since last time?"

The Koorime's sad expression returned, if anything, looking more down than before. "Not really," she said. "He's been slipping in and out of consciousness for a few hours now. Not once has he ever been _awake_. I know it can't be much, but I'm worried about him."

Yusuke gave the girl a pat on the shoulder, giving her a comforting smile. He knew why she was worried for him; even though she didn't know of their relation, she had always seen Hiei as a brother-figure to her. Just the thought of seeing him slip in and out of consciousness made even Yusuke worry.

As he walked into the room and closer to Hiei's sleeping form, he began to wonder what he was even doing in there. He and Hiei had their differences, sure, but they hadn't actually held a conversation since right after Yusuke moved in with Raizen. Not that it really mattered, Hiei hadn't been awake long enough to have a conversation with anyone lately, and from where Yusuke was standing, it didn't look like he'd make any attempt to wake up either.

Hiei looked so pale and his small body was drenched in sweat. Yusuke could see where there were bandage patches on the demon's cheek and left shoulder, there were even bandages wrapped around his head. Blood was beginning to seep out through his head bandages, and Yusuke wondered if those wounds were from the self-inflicted ones. The fresh washcloth Yukina had left across his forehead was slipping off, and when Yusuke tried to correct it, Hiei's body gave a small shudder. He also noticed that Hiei's hands were being soaked in some kind of medicinal liquid; the consquence of grabbing Kuwabara's Spirit Sword bare-handed.

"Man, Hiei, I'm sorry...for everything." Yusuke put his hand to his mouth to think. "Everything that's happened between you and Raizen and me, it was mostly my fault. If you hadn't been so pissed off with me about the squid thing, then...I don't know. I mean, you have a scar and you can't even see anymore! Damn it..."

Yusuke looked down and discovered that Hiei's eyes had begun to flutter open. He cursed aloud; talking about this wasn't so hard when Hiei couldn't hear him, but if he was waking up...

Hiei finally managed to open his eyes, barely. It was obvious that he was struggling just to keep them open, and when he noticed Yusuke in the room, he propped himself up on his elbows with difficulty; he wasn't sure he was strong enough to sit completely upright. He took his hands out of the medicinal liquid and after he'd finished wiping sweat from his brow and removing the washcloth, he began to pull the covers tighter around his body. It was then that Yusuke could see how burned Hiei's hands really were. They were even painful to look at.

"It's over," Yusuke said referring to Raizen.

"I know."

Yusuke saw that when Hiei talked, his breath came out as white mist, as though the air around them was freezing.

"What do you want?" Hiei asked after a while.

"I...I want to apologize, Hiei."

"You already did."

"What?"

Yusuke was shocked. Had Hiei really heard everything he had said? Not that he didn't mean it, but it was embarassing. And if that were the case, why hadn't Hiei woken up sooner?

"I was awake during most of what you said, I was just too weak to do anything about it," Hiei said, as though answering Yusuke's question.

"So, you heard it, huh?" Yusuke said, smiling. "You know, I meant it, too."

"I'll bet you did," Hiei said, yawning.

Yusuke knew from that very answer, that Hiei no longer held anything against him, and he smiled wider. He felt that now since everything seemed to be fine between them, that he ought to let Hiei rest some more. Although he was filled with an unexpected surge of giddiness, he knew that Hiei would only recover if he got time alone, for sleep or whatever other reason.

"I guess that's it then," Yusuke said.

Hiei said nothing, but stifled another yawn. They continued to stare at each other until Yusuke turned away; Hiei's blank, blinded eye was really creeping him out. The room was silent all the way until Yusuke reached the sliding door. A noise from behind had caused him to turn back, and when he realized that it was only Hiei's soft snoring, he couldn't help but let out a snicker.

- - -

Hiei slept the whole next day, finally waking after sunset at dusk. As expected, he was now extremely sore; just the rise and fall of his chest left him wincing from time to time. When he came out of his room, he didn't look any better than what he had before; he was pale and still running a slight fever, and he looked pitiful leaning on the doorframe for support. Yukina followed him out, draping a blanket over his shoulders before he could be fully exposed to the chilly night air. She had left both of Hiei's burned hands unwrapped, telling him that some fresh air might help soothe them.

"Good...morning? Afternoon, evening?" Yusuke said, scooting away from Kuwabara to make room for Hiei to sit.

"We're glad you could finally join us. Are you all right?" Kurama asked, watching as Hiei answered him with a yawn.

"I'm so tired."

It wasn't in Hiei's nature to whine, and after nearly two days of sleep he had no reason to, but the other's concern was still there. It was possible that Raizen had drained him of all of his energy.

"But you've been asleep all this time!" Kuwabara said.

Hiei was silent, answering by wrapping the blanket tighter around his body. He didn't quite know why, but he could tell his friends were trying to hide their concern for him. What he'd been through, as horrible as it seemed, wasn't really as bad as the looks they were giving him. Sure, he'd been whipped like a troublesome dog, but was it enough to have his friends eye him with such worrisome looks?

He brushed his fingertips over the scar across his eye, letting the shiver that ran down his back both soothe and frighten him. It was bittersweet, really; he'd lost so much during that battle, his mental status, a big chunk of his pride...but he was alive.

"Hiei?"

He looked up, having been lost in his thoughts.

"We asked if you were all right," Yusuke said, narrowing his eyebrows.

"And I answered you," Hiei all but snapped. Damn it, they bugged him sometimes!

"The first time, but..."

Hiei waited for an explanation, but Yusuke never got the chance to finish his sentence, because he was interrupted by another voice. That annoyingly high-pitched voice that always spoke to him matter-of-factly, and never quite seemed to fit the person it belonged to.

"Your Jagan is glowing."

Hiei turned, wincing slightly as his head began to throb. It was Koenma who had spoken. The toddler was walking toward them, two manila folders tucked under his arm. When he reached them, he sat himself directly opposite Hiei, placing the closed folders on the floor in front of him.

"Do you remember what happened to you two days ago?"

"I..." Hiei was unsure how to answer the question. Of course he remembered what went on, there was no way anyone could forget something like that. He was afraid of answering incorrectly, and having Koenma sit with them only made his head hurt more. "That mission with the A-class squid. I was...injured."

When Koenma and especially the others began to look at him strangely, he feared that he indeed had not given them the answer they wanted. He tried not to show his concern about the matter, but then Koenma reached for one of his folders. He opened it, turning it around for Hiei to see. It read:

_**Raizen **__(# 4687)_

_Age???_

_Hair Color: Tan (light brownish-blonde)_

_Eye Color: Cobalt Blue_

_Distinctive Marking(s): Triangular tattoos on face and arms_

_The Demon Warlord Raizen was captured February 28, 2007 and will be tried at a later date for the physical and mental abuse of fire youkai Hiei. Raizen was controlling him through Hiei's Jagan Eye, using a special telepathy learned from the late Seishin. Warlord Raizen will also be charged with Seishin's murder..._

Hiei looked up at Koenma. Somehow, even after reading this, he still couldn't see how it had anything to do with him. The file, which looked like an official Reikai file, seemed to be legit in every way. The date listed was recent, and having been controlled by telepathy, would better explain his headaches. He knew of Raizen, he'd been in on the mission with Yusuke when they first met.

"There's more," Koenma said, already knowing that Hiei hadn't read the entire report.

He pushed the folder forward, almost into Hiei's lap, forcing him to read a little further. In all honesty, Hiei wanted nothing more to do with whatever else was written on the page. It confused him and made his head throb. He looked down anyway, reading a middle line that had suddenly caught his eye.

_Raizen was using the aid of Kuyo (also known as Akitama) to win over Hiei's trust. Kuyo is Hiei's father..._

By the time he was finished reading, Hiei was shaking from head to toe, and it had nothing to do with the chilly night air. He ran his fingers through his hair; his palms were cold and sweaty.

"My father...?" Hiei said, staring at his shaking hands.

"Do you mean you really don't remember?" Yusuke asked, looking away from the folder and trying to meet Hiei's gaze.

Hiei didn't answer, but continued to stare at his hands. After another minute he felt like he couldn't breathe, he was shaking so much. He didn't even want to know the contents of the second folder. Did it have anything to do with him and Raizen, or maybe his father? Hiei could feel the others' eyes boring into him and finally, he looked up.

"I don't think this is the right time for me to show you this other file," Koenma said, putting a hand on Hiei's knee, almost consolingly. "Now that I know that you don't remember... When, or _if_ you get your memory back, I want you to visit me in the Reikai, and I want you all to make sure he does."

Koenma picked up his folders and stood up. He bowed his thanks and left the room in silence.

"Maybe you should get some more rest," Yukina said, coming foward and placing her small hands on Hiei's shoulders. "It might help you remember something."

Hiei was grateful for Yukina's concern; she had been quiet all this time, listening to everything that went on around her. And now that he thought about it, he was feeling tired again. Whatever had happened between him and Raizen--the whole thing about being controlled by telepathy--was going to take him the rest of the week to recover from.

- - -

It was early morning before Hiei left the security of his room. He stepped out, shuddering at the sudden change in temperature. He sat himself on the edge of the veranda, staring at his bare feet as they hung off the side.

He'd had a dream while he'd been asleep. It had been about Raizen; Hiei had a vivid memory of the demon's evil sneer. He struggled to recall the rest of the dream, but Raizen's face was the only image that stuck in his head.

Something told him that he needed to look at Koenma's other folder in order to regain parts of his memory. But he was told only to visit when or if he remembered anything. The whole thing had him frustrated. Did he really dare to ask the others about the stuff he didn't recall?

He stood up from the veranda and began his search for Kurama. Yusuke was sure to be a jerk about things and that dummy Kuwabara probably knew less than Hiei. Kurama might sugar-coat things if they got too rough, but Hiei knew he could still count on him to give all the details.

Up until now, Hiei never realized just how big Genkai's temple really was. Even though he'd been there many times he now felt like he was in an endless maze of sliding doors and corridors. He began to wonder whether if whatever had happened with Raizen had affected any other parts of his memory. He made another sharp turn around a corner, immediately colliding into Yukina. The Koorime gave a yelp of surprise as she stumbled backward onto her rear, dropping her tray laden with two bowls of scalding hot green liquid.

"I'm sorry," Hiei said, sounding more surprised than Yukina looked. Hiei honestly wasn't expecting anyone other than himself to be wandering around so early.

"Hiei, you're awake!" Yukina said, her voice steady despite the obvious pain she was feeling as the hot liquid seeped through her kimono.

"I was tired of sleeping," Hiei said, offering his hand to help her up. "What's that?"

"It was supposed to help reduce your fever and give you some of your energy back. It's Genkai's special recipe."

"I'm sorry," Hiei said again.

"Don't worry about it, I'll just get her to make you some more."

"No, I mean about your clothes. You're all wet."

"It's not a problem, I'll go and change." Yukina paused. "Which reminds me: it's been hours since I redressed your wounds. Come with me; the bandages are in my room."

"Where's Kurama staying?" Hiei asked as he began to follow her.

"He left while you were sleeping. He hasn't been back here in a while."

They reached a sliding door that, to Hiei, looked like all the others and could have led to anyone's room. Yukina slid the door open and walked inside--Hiei following, but staying a little ways back; he felt embarrassed about entering his sister's room.

"Just make yourself comfortable while I change," Yukina said. "I'll tend to your wounds when I'm done, okay?"

She turned without waiting for an answer. Hiei sat himself on the floor as he watched Yukina walk behind an 8-foot room divider. The early morning sun made Yukina's silhouette very defined, and Hiei couldn't help but turn red.

"How are the others?" he asked, averting his eyes to the floor.

"They're all fine, much better than you, of course. Wait, I'm sorry, that was rude," Yukina added, poking her head around a side of the divider.

"It's probably true," Hiei said.

Yukina stepped out from behind the divider dressed in a long mahogany kimono. She smiled at Hiei when he looked up at her, and she continued to move toward him, a thick roll of bandages in her hands. She knelt beside him and quickly but efficiently wrapped his hands, and then began to unwrap the wound around his waist.

Hiei watched as his wound became more exposed. Before Yukina began to redress it, he realized that it wasn't really a wound he was looking at, but a big discolored bruise. It was probably being wrapped to prevent him from injurying it further.

"This might hurt a little," Yukina said as she began to undo the wraps around his head.

Hiei didn't expect it to hurt, but as the dressings grew thinner, he realized that the cloth was sticking to his head, and as Yukina stripped them off, the feeling was like slowly removing a band-aid.

When Yukina had painfully yet successfully removed the bandages, she reached for a clean set and began to swab at Hiei's forehead; but not before a trail of blood began to trickle down the side of his head.

"Sorry," Yukina said, mopping it up.

"Is that...blood?"

"Yes. It was dried under the bandages, but I guess I irritated it when I removed them." Hiei couldn't help but notice that Yukina hesitated before answering. "You have a mild concussion too."

There was silence as Yukina cleaned Hiei's forehead and began to dress his wound. He sat there, thinking about Raizen. Maybe Yukina would know something...

"What happened to me?"

He sat there, wide-eyed. The question had escaped him before he got a chance to stop himself.

Yukina stopped dressing his wound and the wrappings that were in her hands fell to the ground.

"You want to know what happened with Raizen?"

Hiei couldn't just deny that he didn't want to; he'd been eager to know the details since the night Koenma came to visit him.

"Yes," he said finally.

"I can't tell you everything, because I wasn't there, but I can tell you what I know and what I've heard from Genkai."

"Just tell me what you can."

"I've gathered some information from Botan too, but according to Genkai, you had an allergic reaction to Raizen's telepathy."

Hiei paused to take in what Yukina was saying, when... "Since when has Raizen known telepathy?"

"He learned it from an elderly demon quite recently."

Yukina picked up the rest of the dressings and smiled. She wasn't finished wrapping Hiei's wounds.

"Is that all?" Hiei asked, somewhat disappointed. He had been expecting Yukina to tell him a lot more.

"You really don't remember anything?" Yukina asked, her smile fading. When Hiei lowered his eyes to the ground, that gave Yukina her answer. "I'm not supposed to tell you this because Koenma wanted to wait until you remembered on your own--"

"But you were planning on telling me anyway," Hiei said, an amused smirk crossing his lips. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she had something more to say.

"I think it's important that you know, yes. I would want to know if anyone was keeping a secret from me if it were truly something that would help me in the long run."

Hiei couldn't help but wince at Yukina's words. As soon as it was said, Hiei felt an unbelievable amount of guilt. He grabbed the bandages from her hands and tied them clumsily around his head. He then proceeded with standing up and walking towards the door leading out to the rest of the temple grounds.

"Sorry, I've got to find Yusuke," he said almost inaudibly before sliding the door shut behind him.

He passed Genkai in one of the hallways, but quickly brushed past her, pretending not to hear her when she asked him how he felt. He did stop, however, when she called out to him, telling him that Kurama was out in the garden and that Kuwabara would be over shortly.

"Yusuke had to make a quick visit to see Koenma," Genkai said as she rounded a corner and was out of sight.

Unable to talk to Yusuke, Hiei decided to go after his first choice, Kurama. He walked out into the open garden, finding Kurama bent over and smelling the flowers of a rosebush. Hopefully the kitsune would be able to help him remember something about Raizen.

"Good morning, Hiei," Kurama said, turning around to find the youkai walking towards him. Seeing the bandages tied haphazardly around Hiei's head, he added, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I just finished talking to Yukina," Hiei said, staring at a rose behind his friend. "I asked her about Raizen."

Kurama looked taken aback when he asked, "What did she tell you?"

"Everything she knew."

The fox exhaled, placing a comforting hand on Hiei's shoulder, for he knew Yukina couldn't have known much. "And do you remember any of it?"

"I've tried...but no. Not a single thing she told me sounded familiar."

Hiei paused. Kurama was bound to tell him something about how he would remember eventually, and right now, he didn't want to hear it. He was frustrasted without his memories; he felt useless.

"Why don't we get some breakfast?" Kurama asked, steering Hiei back towards the temple. "Kuwabara should be here soon and I believe Yusuke is already on his way back from Spirit World; they can join us when they get here."

- - -

As soon as Yusuke arrived the first thing he wanted to do was talk with Hiei in private. His trip to the Reikai had taken longer than expected. Neither of them said anything as Yusuke led them out into the garden and away from the temple. They stopped at what seemed to be just outside the forest that surrounded the area. Yusuke looked hesitant to speak at first, but when Hiei yawned loudly, Yusuke felt as though he had no more time to deny Hiei this information.

"First of all," he started. "I want you to know again how sorry I am about your eye."

Hiei met his gaze and blinked, unsure of where Yusuke was going with this conversation.

"What I...what I did was selfish and wrong, and I...I'm sorry." Yusuke couldn't bear to look Hiei in the eyes, but he knew that if he didn't, he would never be taken seriously. "Sometimes I wonder if it was that one mission that really got you to side with Raizen."

"It wasn't," Hiei interrupted him. His eyes widened. Without his memories, what he just said was an empty statement. There was no way he could tell whether or not that was his true motive for joining the warlord.

Yusuke dismissed Hiei's comment and continued. "I understand I've been a real jerk lately, and not just to you, but to Kurama and Kuwabara too. I was, I don't know, stressed...with _everything_. Look Hiei, I've wanted to get this off my chest for the longest time, but now was the only time that seemed right."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is it so important that you tell me this? I've already heard and accepted your poor excuse for an apology the first time, so what is it about right now that's got you on edge?"

For a while Yusuke said nothing. He managed to avert his eyes to the ground and for a small amount of time, he was able to let his mind wander as he watched the wind blow dirt over his shoes. Hiei was expecting an answer and when Yusuke felt like he was finally ready to give him one, the Spirit Detective looked up to meet the sanjiyan's eyes.

"Your sentence." When Hiei looked somewhat puzzled, he added, "Koenma called me to Spirit World this morning to go over your case and further options regarding the outcome. That's what was in the other folder."

"But I don't remember anything," Hiei said. "Whatever's in that folder will mean nothing to me if I don't know the true reason for it."

"You don't remember that day in town?" Yusuke asked, but with Hiei's lack of any sort of reaction, he continued. "Raizen had you under his control--he was using his telepathy. I mean, it wasn't your fault or anything, you know, because you were being controlled, but...Hiei, you killed a lot of people that day."

Hiei racked his brain, thinking. Nothing.

"Koenma said that he would take the telepathy into account--"

"Don't try to make me feel better because of that," Hiei said scowling. "Nothing you say will change the situation. If I've killed as many people as you claim, then Koenma wouldn't dare hesitate in having me executed."

"Don't say that!" Yusuke said, taking a few steps forward. "Koenma wouldn't. No, he _can't_, not after everything that you've done for him."

Hiei turned, beginning to walk away. He didn't want to talk anymore about his already decided fate.

"They prepared breakfast for you. You should eat it before it gets cold."

- - -

That night, as Hiei lay on his futon, he replayed Yusuke's words over in his head. He frowned up at the ceiling--he was hoping that something Yusuke said would trigger his memory.

"_You killed a lot of people..._"

Well, what the hell did that mean? Hiei didn't remember anything about killing anybody, but he was sure that if he did, it would also mean death on his part. Koenma had put him on parole; in exchange, he was to work with Yusuke and absolutely _forbidden_ from taking human life.

He stood up and began to pace around the room. He tended to do this when he was unusually nervous or anxious about something, and he was indeed that. The thought of being sentenced for crimes he didn't even know he committed was just...he stopped. A flash of _something_ had just--there it was again. There was Raizen's face, huge and leering at him. Then, there was the blood, lots of blood, tons of it even; and it was splattered on the sidewalks and street.

There were bodies too, fewer than twenty but more than ten, all neatly zipped into bags. The number of bodies could easily account for the amount of blood splattered everywhere.

And then Hiei saw himself. He wasn't wearing his cloak, something that usually meant that he meant serious business, and his Jagan was glowing bright red. There were black flames gathering in the palm of his hand and beginning to encase his right arm, the Kokuruyuha. He was going to use it on the humans! The flames began to release themselves from Hiei's arm, there were gut-wrenching, blood-curdling screams that followed. And then there was a flash of white light.

Hiei stepped back and stumbled. He hit the ground, clutching his head, his eyes wide. He didn't even realize that he was screaming. So, these were his missing memories.

Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara rushed in, followed by Genkai and Yukina. Kurama reached him first; he knelt beside the horrorified demon, shaking him to get his attention.

"Hiei, what's wrong?" Yusuke shouted over the youkai's screams.

Kurama began to shake him more violently. It was like Hiei was totally unaware of the others' presence. He was fighting against Kurama and was attempting to curl himself into a tight ball, his hands still clutching the sides of his head.

"Come on, snap out of it! Hiei!"

"What do you think's wrong with him?" Kuwabara asked, leaning towards Yusuke. The black-haired ningen only gritted his teeth in response.

"HIEI!"

Hiei's breath caught; the sound of Kurama's bellowing cry had made him conscious of everyone around him. His arms relaxed and fell at his sides. If not before, now his entire body was shaking violently. He focused his eyes on Kurama, the first and only person directly in front of him. At first, he stared blankly into the kitsune's emerald green eyes, but after a few moments his expression faltered and his vision blurred. He was starting to cry.

Kurama, his hands still on top of Hiei's shoulders, watched in awe as tears spilled down the youkai's cheeks; little clinking noises could be heard as the tears fell to the ground as small, round black-metallic gems. Not only was Hiei crying, he was sobbing. Unsure of what else to do, Kurama wrapped his arms around the distraught demon, granting him a little comfort...

The unusual, almost disturbing scene lasted about fifteen minutes, and when it was over, the atmosphere around the room had changed dramatically. The realization that Hiei had finally regained his memories had made everyone tense. Hiei's attitude had reverted back to normal, if not moodier than before; although he did seem to lighten up once he saw Yukina begin to occupy herself by sweeping around the room.

Botan seemed to have arrived mere seconds after Hiei's little episode, and she had proceeded with literally dragging Yusuke into the hall, an urgent feel about her.

"Hiei," Yusuke said, upon reentering. He nor Botan seemed to be giving off any kind of vibe, so it was hard to tell what either of them were thinking. "I just got word from Koenma: he wants to see you this Saturday."

"That's tomorrow," Hiei said, slightly taken aback by the quickness in which Koenma wanted to see him. He would need to mentally prepare himself before then. This meeting would determine whether he lived or...well, he didn't want to consider the other possibility.

"You'll be fine," Yusuke said, placing a hand on Hiei's shoulder.

"He's right," Botan said, smiling. "Koenma would have wanted to see you immediately if it had been something really important."

She doesn't think my life is important? Hiei thought. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Although extremely ditzy, the girl had a good heart, and knowing that he had his friends behind him, made Hiei feel slightly better about meeting with Koenma.

- - -

The following morning, the others discovered Hiei in a foul mood. He claimed to have slept very little that night, if at all, and judging by the paleness of his skin and dark circles below his eyes, they weren't about to argue the matter.

Botan popped in during breakfast and announced that Hiei's scheduled meeting with Koenma was to take place after the demi-god's afternoon snack at 1 o' clock. That gave Hiei a little over four hours to continue to prepare himself--he had spent all of last night thinking about how to approach the situation if Koenma happened to say the worst..

"You'll be fine," everyone kept telling him. "Koenma could never put you to death after everything you've done for him _and_ Spirit World."

But those words never made Hiei feel better, they always made him feel so much worse. Sure, he had helped Yusuke on countless missions for the better of Spirit World, but he had also just recently betrayed him, even if it was because of Raizen's telepathy. Hiei never liked excuses; he believed that even without Raizen's telepathy, he still would have managed to side with the power-hungry warlord. And what about what he had done in the past? Hiei's record wasn't exactly clean: breaking into King Enma's vault to steal his most valuable treasure couldn't have spelt his ultimate downfall more clearly. It felt like he was dying, the way he saw all his past mistakes flash through his mind.

It seemed like he thought about that for hours, and when he realized that it was already noon, it appeared that he really _had_ been thinking too much into this meeting.

"I think you should be getting ready," Genkai said as she sat herself on the veranda next to him, a steaming cup of tea in her hands. "It'll look better if you show up early. Giving Koenma one less thing to judge you about it probably the best thing you could hope for."

And as if on cue, Botan popped into view, soaring in on her oar. "I thought I'd take you in early!" she called, landing a few yards away. Beside Hiei, Genkai smirked.

Hiei stood up too quickly and swayed; his self-inflicted head injuries made him dizzy. Once he had composed himself, he tried again and took a few cautious steps forward.

"Are you ready?" Botan asked, she had an unfamiliar smile on her face. "There's nothing to worry about."

Hiei then realized what that smile was: Botan was worried about upsetting him. He noticed that she was being very careful in choosing her words. He figured that she thought him to be uncharacteristically fragile and that killed him. He hated people to think he was weak.

"You're looking better."

It was Botan again. She had moved closer and was studying Hiei carefully. He had to admit himself, he did look better than he had the past few hours; his complextion had cleared and was now less pale and his less serious injuries were almost healed.

Hiei nodded and walked past her. He hated having her look at him with pity, it was disgusting!

"You're in a hurry," Botan called to him. "We'll leave when everyone gets here."

"What?" Hiei had to do a double-take before he stopped in his tracks and turned to face Botan and Genkai.

"You didn't actually believe that you could leave to decide your fate without saying goodbye to us, did you?"

Hiei saw Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, and his sister Yukina making their way off the temple veranda and over towards the smaller crowd. He didn't know how they could stand it; they all looked so confident, like this meeting with Koenma was just a walk in the park.

He looked to Botan, hoping just to be flown away on her oar (as awkward as it might be), if just to escape all these useless goodbyes. Apparently, his expression gave away these very thoughts, because Yukina stepped forward, placing a small hand on his equally small shoulder.

"I know you're worried about this," and she didn't know how right to was, "but you really shouldn't be. You helped rescue me from Tarukane..."

"And you didn't kill us in that Saint-Beast castle," Kuwabara said. "You had me going at the Gate of Betrayal though. I mean, it seemed like that purple bat-thing had you convinced--"

"_Regardless_," Yusuke said speaking over Kuwabara's rambling. "you get what we're saying when we say that there's _no way_ Koenma could sentence you to death!"

Hiei looked to the ground, shrugging Yukina away from him. Everything they said meant nothing to him; he'd done an equal amount of bad things, if not more. The way he saw it, he only had a 50 chance of living.

"I know you think we're just repeating ourselves to make you feel better, but honestly, if you think about it, we're just as worried as you are, if not 100 times more."

When Hiei looked up, he saw Kurama standing before him, the other three plus Botan and Genkai standing beside him. With them all here to support him, Hiei couldn't help but feel some relief. Vainly, he tried to surpress a smile.

"That's the spirit!" Botan chimed, for she had glimpsed the youkai's faint smile. "Now c'mon, we don't want you to be late."

In the pit of his stomach, Hiei could feel his small ecstasy slipping away. Just this reminder of what was to come, had him reminiscing about the last time he had stood before Koenma in this sort of situation. Even when he had broken into King Enma's vault and killed people remorselessly, he didn't feel as he did now. Back then, Koenma had surprised him with the option of parole; Hiei had definately sensed execution in his future, and he had welcomed it. But now, he had had time to think about his past actions and of how much he enjoyed living in general. All this worrying about whether he was to live or die literally made him sick to his stomach. He wanted to vomit.

"Seriously, Hiei," Yusuke said, placing his hand on Hiei's shoulder, startling the youkai out of his reverie. "Don't worry too much about this. Kuwabara, Kurama, and I have already talked to Koenma and told him what we think of the situation, and he agreed with most of our views. It all depends on how you present yourself today."

Beside the ningen, Kurama and Kuwabara nodded. Botan smiled and ushered Hiei towards her. Together, Hiei and Botan walked a little ways from the others.

"Botan better not come back and tell us you've been executed!"

Hiei knew Yusuke had shouted as a last minute reassurance, but Hiei couldn't help but notice the slight quiver in the boy's voice; Yusuke wasn't as confident as he put on. Well, there was nothing else Hiei or anyone else could do. His fate was to be decided today, and no matter how much of him told Hiei that he was worried or afraid, another, smaller part of him said everything was to be fine either way. That one part of Hiei concluded that whatever his sentence, he deserved it and would accept it as honorably as possible.

He watched as Botan pulled out her oar and climbed on. She offered her hand to him, and from the second he grabbed her hand, he felt that from here on out, everything would be different; for better or for worse.

- - -

_(Before I begin the "real" author's note, I would just like to say that that was NOT shonen ai behavior between Kurama and Hiei (or even Yusuke and Hiei). Well, it might have seemed that way, but it wasn't intended to be. See it how you want, but remember, that's not the way I originally planned it.)_

_Oh. Em. Gee. I don't know if you could tell by the text, but I started writing this chapter on Feb. 28, 2007. For the record, it is now the 6th...of December. That's right, this "little" chapter was almost 10 months in the making. Sheesh! Do I not have a life?_

_Now, I can't say that I'm glad this story has come to an end, because as you can very well see...it hasn't. The __Torn Apart__ saga is done with and semi-complete, but if you've paid really close attention since the beginning of this fic, you'd have realized that there are still holes in this story; mind you, they were purposely left that way because...I AM continuing. Hooray (roll the r when you say that)!_

_I know, I know. I was sad too when I found out that I decided to continue this. But technically, if you think about the situation, I'm not really writing a new story. My old fic from a few years back, "Michi no Sekai", was always planned to be a spin-off of "TA", but I never actually got the courage to really see that through. Then, one day while I was rereading "TA" in its entirety, I saw all the empty spaces that I had left just for the sake of doing the spin-off. So then it came to me...I had no other choice but to continue._

_The next chapter to "Michi no Sekai" is actually already in the works and will be posted hopefully sometime before I graduate college (don't worry, you still have a few years). I'm still not 100 sure yet, but I think the story will pick up with the infamous squid mission._

_Also to Lindsey: I'm sorry, but this is the only way I knew how to get a hold of you. I did plan on finishing the story...in fact, I was already 5 pages in when you contacted me. If you still want to, I'll give you permission to do a sort of spin-off ending. If you decide to do that, I'd love to read it._

_Vaoh: Muchas gracias for giving me the idea of your characters. I want more Seika:)_

_Wahkeetcha: You've been there for me through it all. Thanks a ton for encouraging me to continue writing._

_Other Readers & Reviewers: Wow, how many years has it been since I started this? After all this time, thanks for sticking with me. I appreciate all the positive feedback and suggestions you've given me. _


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